THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

GIFT  OF 

Professor 
Frank  W.  Wadsworth 


S 


THE 


VOYAGE  OF  THE  FLEETWING 


NARRATIVE   OF   LOVE,   WRECK,   AND 
WHALING  ADVENTURES 


BY 


C.    M.    NEWELL 

AUTHOR  OF  "  KALANI  OF  OAHU,;!  "  KAMEHAMEHA  THE 
GREAT,"  ETC. 


BOSTON: 

DE    WOLFE,   FISKE   &   CO. 

::ir,  WASHINGTON  STIIKKT. 


Copyright,  /.SS6, 
BY  C.  M.  NKWI  LL. 

All  Rights  Reserved, 


ELECTROTVPED  BY 
C.  J.  PETERS  AND  SON,  BOSTON. 


FS 


INSCRIBED      TO      MY      FRIEND 


.  Oilman, 


WITH  EVER  WILLING  REMEMBRANCE  OF  THE  LONG-GONE 

DAYS  WHEN  WE  "  GAMMED"  IN  THE  SOUTHERN 

OCEAN,    AMIDST   THE    ADVENTUROUS 

SCENES  OF  WHICH  I  WRITE. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  RAYMOND'S  LAST  NIGHT  WITH  MARY i 

II.  THE  SURLY  OLD  BOATMAN 15 

III.  WHARF  SCENES  ON  SAILING  DAY 20 

IV.  THE  FLEETWING  AND  HER  CREW 31 

V.   WEIGHING  ANCHOR  AND  LEAVING  PORT     ....  46 

VI.  THE  YOUNG  MATE  AND  THE  OLD  MARTINET  ...  60 

VII.  UNCLE  JOE  DISCLOSING  THE  MYSTERIES      ....  67 

VIII.  NIGHT  SCENE  IN  THE  CABIN 79 

IX.  TOM  THRASHING  THE  PORTUGUESE 8? 

X.  THE  SHIP  CAUGHT  IN  A  GALE 95 

XI.  THE  TERRIFIED  AND  SEA-SICK  LADIES 105 

XII.  PERSONALITY  OF  THE  LADY  PASSENGER 114 

XIII.  CAPTURING  THE  FIRST  SPERM  WHALES 121 

XIV.  CUTTING  AND  BOILING  THE  WTHALES  .......  143 

XV.   MAKING  A  PORT  AT  THE  AZORES .    .  157 

XVI.  AMONG  A  SCHOOL  OF  Cows  AND  CALVES    ....  173 

XVII.  THE  PERFIDIOUS  ALBION 190 

XVIII.  THE  FIGHT  WITH  A  DEMON  WHALE 194 

XIX.  THE  HIDDEN  HISTORY  OF  "TIMOR  TOM"  ....  214 

XX.  DISCLOSING  SOME  SECRETS  OF  THE  SEA 230 

XXI.  WHALING  ON  THE  "STEEN  GROUND" 240 

XXII.  STRIKING  A  SPERM  WHALE  HEAD-ON 259 


Contents. 

XXIII.  THE  HURRICANE 277 

XXIV.  THE  WRECKED  SHIP 292 

XXV.  A  NIGHT  ON  THE  WRECK 513 

XXVI.  THE  DIPLOMACY  OF  LOVE "530 

XXVII.  THE  PARTING  AT  PERNAMBUCO 348 

XXVIII.  BOUND  FOR  THE  ABROLHOS 367 

XXIX.  THE  Two  JILTED  MATES 378 

XXX.  THE  PHANTOM  KISSES 387 

XXXI.  THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  GIANTS 397 

XXXII.  DOUBLING  CAPE  HORN 418 

XXXIII.  BOUND  FOR  THE  LAST  PORT 434 


THE 

VOYAGE  OF  THE  FLEETWING. 


CHAPTER   I. 

RAYMOND'S  LAST  NIGHT  WITH  MARY. 

TT  was  approaching  the  midnight  hour  of  a  beautiful 
*  September  night.  The  broad  harvest  moon  was  riding 
high  in  the  zenith  of  an  almost  cloudless  sky.  Large  and 
full,  as  in  fact  only  a  full-orbed  moon  could  be  seen  on 
the  meridian  at  such  an  hour.  The  few  fleecy  clouds  seen 
occasionally  drifting  past  the  moon,  lingered  briefly  in  the 
enticing  luna-light,  until  each,  in  turn,  became  glorified 
with  a  halo  of  purple  and  gold.  This  was  the  Night- 
queen's  insignia,  bestowed  upon  every  luminous  mist  which 
timidly  came  to  pay  homage  at  her  throne. 

At  the  open  window  of  a  lofty  cupola,  which  adorned 
one  of  the  pretty  dwellings  on  the  hillside  of  Purchase 
Street,  New  Bedford,  there  sat  two  youthful  lovers  gazing 
out  over  the  housetops,  and  far  down  upon  the  bay,  which 
shone  like  silver  in  the  mellow  sheen  of  the  splendid 
night. 

Hand  in  hand  sat  these  two  inamorati,  silent  as  statues, 
watching  the  moonbeams  flood  the  whole  wide  landscape 
with  radiance,  until  every  rugged  outline  softened  into 
beauty.  Watching  the  yellow  rays  brooding  over  the 


2  The  I'lcctwing. 

hushed  town,  ]ike  the  fostering  wing  of  some  hallowed 
spirit  inviting  all  to  slumber. 

At  times  their  gaze  extended  to  the  opposite  town  of 
Fairhaven ;  but  mostly  their  eyes  dwelt  upon  some  object 
of  unusual  interest  far  out  in  mid-river,  some  centre  of 
sadness,  half  akin  to  sorrow^  to  judge  from  their  sober 
looks  and  the  deep  sighs  which  winged  out  over  the  night 
from  the  cupola  window. 

Anchored  here  and  there  about  the  harbor  lay  the  out 
bound  ships,  with  their  white  wings  folded,  peacefully 
slumbering  in  the  weird  and  misty  light.  Yet  these  sea 
going  vessels  would  sunder  many  loving  hearts  at  the  turn 
of  the  morning  tide.  One  vessel,  more  attractive  than  all 
others,  lay  like  a  spirit-ship  in  the  shimmering  beam, 
showing  more  artful  taper  to  her  graceful  masts,  a  greater 
mystery  of  shrouds  and  stays,  and  a  yet  more  delicate 
tracery  aloft  among  the  mazy  network  of  ropes  and  rig 
ging.  Just  where  she  was  anchored  the  moon-touched 
waters  gleamed  like  a  mirror,  every  ripple  on  the  surface 
glittering  like  starlight  in  the  swift  running  tide. 

As  the  solemn  chimes  of  the  midnight  clocks  ushered 
in  the  new  day,  it  startled  the  lovers  from  their  long  rev- 
ery  of  mingled  emotions,  for  it  admonished  them  that  the 
hour  of  separation  drew  near.  The  youth  rose  and  looked 
out  over  the  bland  night,  questioning  with  .searching  eyes 
for  some  forecast  of  wind  for  the  coining  day. 

The  breeze  was  just  enough  to  frolic  playfully  with  the 
ringlets  of  the  young  girl  in  the  cupola. 

She  was  a  gentle  dark-eyed  creature  of  eighteen  sum 
mers,  with  a  full,  voluptuous  figure.  Her  face  was  beauti 
ful  as  the  night  she  looked  upon.  Her  clear  olive  com- 


TJic  YontJifiil  Lovers.  3 

plexion  was  made  doubly  fair  by  the  yellow  moonlight, 
stirred  as  she  now  was  at  the  thought  of  parting,  and  by 
the  open  admiration  and  outspoken  affection  of  her  com 
panion. 

There  was  a  sad,  solemn  tenderness  in  the  young  girl's 
eyes  as  she  gazed  skyward,  seeking  sympathy  in  the  cold 
calm  orb  above,  while  her  lips  quivered  with  emotion  as 
she  murmured  a  half-audible  prayer.  With  her  face  thus 
turned  to  the  sky,  the  affluent  curls  of  her  blue-black  hair 
hung  gracefully  about  her  white  shoulders  and  bare  arms ; 
elements  of  beauty  to  which  a  sailor  strikes  his  colors 
quicker  than  to  any  other  charm  in  his  ideal  woman. 

Yet  it  was  a  weak,  irresolute  face  which  the  ardent  lover 
looked  upon  so  doatingly.  Its  want  of  character  was  fully 
confirmed  by  the  full  red  lips  of  her  small  sweet  mouth, 
together  with  the  languid,  indolent  expression  of  her  large 
soft  eyes.  Yet  the  girl's  eyes  could  beam  with  love  most 
eloquently,  and  her  lips  ternpt  to  kisses  like  the  cleft 
crimson  of  an  over-ripe  pomegranate. 

It  was  not  so  much  the  girl's  callow  youth,  her  eighteen 
gentle  summers,  that  made  her  puerile  and  passive,  as  it 
was  her  unbalanced  character,  which  left  her  too  thought 
less  and  frivolous  to  value  the  virile  qualities  of  the  youth 
who  now  proffered  his  love. 

The  companion  of  this  fair  night-elve  was  a  youth  of 
twenty-two  years,  a  manly,  noble-looking  sailor,  having 
the  easy,  commanding  air  of  an  officer.  His  blue  frock 
and  navy  suit,  together  with  the  broad  white  collar  turned 
over  his  coat,  would  further  indicate  that  he  was.  a  son  of 
Neptune,  even  if  his  bold,  frank  sailor  air  was  not  suffi 
cient  to  dispel  all  doubt. 


4  The  Flcctiving. 

He  was  the  chief  mate  of  the  clipper  ship  Fleetwing, 
which  had  so  greatly  elated  the  town  just  then.  The 
mate  seemed  too  young  to  fill  such  a  responsible  berth  in 
the  pet  ship  of  a  great  whaling  mart,  judging  by  the  small 
mustache,  his  only  semblance  of  a  beard.  Yet  there  was 
a  sterling  something  about  the  appearance  of  Charles 
Raymond  which  stamped  him  as  a  well  rounded,  cultured 
man.  True,  his  assured  manners  and  look  of  superior 
intelligence  were  no  evidence  of  his  having  had  sufficient 
whaling  experience  for  his  office. 

Until  this  late  hour  of  his  last  night's  wooing,  Raymond 
had  not  fully  determined  whether  Mar)-  Tudor  really  loved 
him  or  not.  The  girl  had  evidently  been  subjected  to 
some  powerful  restraint,  perhaps  some  strong  maternal 
command  not  to  commit  her  young  heart  too  deeply  to 
this  as  yet  untried  youth.  A  New  Bedford  method  of 
experimental  billing  and  cooing,  all  too  prevalent  in  other 
great  seaport  towns.  A  sad,  cruel  ordeal  for  a  tender 
hearted  girl  to  be  subjected  to,  taught  to  secure  dual 
strings  to  her  flimsy  bow. 

Mary  Tudor  had  known  her  lover  only  a  short  time. 
Three  months  previous,  Charles  Raymond's  ship  came 
sailing  into  port  full  as  she  could  stagger,  having  a  rich 
cargo  of  sperm  and  whale  oil.  For  weeks  after  her  ar 
rival  the  town  was  alive  with  gossip  about  the  young 
second  mate,  to  whose  skilful  lance  the  rich  voyage  was 
largely  due. 

It  was  truly  said  of  him  that  once  Raymond's  boat  got 
fast  to  a  whale  of  any  kind,  it  was  sure  to  be  captured. 
He  would  stick  closer,  hang  on  longer,  and  take  more 
risk  of  losing  his  head,  than  most  men  cared  to  do. 


Mrs.  Tudor 's  Advice.  5 

Throughout  the  voyage,  no  other  officer  ever  succeeded  in 
killing  a  whale  that  Charlie  Raymond  was  fast  to. 

In  a  special  whaling  port,  an  officer  thus  endowed 
easily  becomes  the  lion  of  the  hour.  His  fame  interests 
every  marriageable  maiden  in  the  place.  Conniving 
mammas  deem  such  a  person  a  "good  catch,"  a  "rising 
man,"  stuff  from  which  "lucky  captains"  are  made. 

Mary  Tudor  was  thought  to  be  greatly  favored  in  secur 
ing  the  first  opportunity  to  flaunt  her  colors  before  the 
young  officer.  Delighted  and  amazed  at  her  beauty,  Ray 
mond  had  backed  his  topsail  on  the  instant.  The  young 
sailor  was  too  fresh  from  the  briny  deep  not  to  consort 
with  the  first  fair  face  and  bright  eyes  that  signalled  him 
in  the  offing. 

It  was  then  that  the  girl's  mother  came  forward,  and 
weighed  the  youth  in  her  matrimonial  balance,  and  finally 
peddled  him  out  one  of  her  least  nubile  daughters.  Hav 
ing  four  others  on  the  docket,  Mrs.  Tudor  gave  Mary 
characteristic  instructions:  — 

"  Mamie,  the  young  chap  is  a  trump  card,  though  too 
fond  of  peril  for  a  '  wait-over.'  Bait  with  a  gay  hook,  and 
you'll  catch  him.  Fish  for  a  '  catch-penny '  wedding  be 
fore  he  sails,  or  throw  him  over  to  the  next  one.  Keep 
your  heart  out  of  the  matter,  my  daughter,  and  remember, 
don't  engage  yourself  to  wait  over  a  voyage  ;  for  the  fel 
low  is  sure  to  lose  his  head  before  he  is  a  skipper.  Now 
mind,  Mamie,  for  you're  good  property  to  keep  over  for  a 
full-fledged  skipper." 

Love  at  sight  is  an  honest  trick  of  sailors.  So  long  are 
they  debarred  the  sight  of  lovely  woman  that  when  they 
do  get  ashore,  and  clap  eyes  on  a  lovely  face,  they  down 


6  Tlic  Flcctwing. 

* 

helm  at  once,  let  fly  sheets  and  tacks  in  the  wind,  and 
come  to  anchor  in  a  jiffy. 

It  is  a  charming  sight  to  view  Jack's  rising  emotions 
when  he  first  sights  a  pretty  girl  in  the  offing.  The  jolly 
fellow  laughs  all  over  his  face,  as,  with  arms  akimbo,  he 
deliberately  notes  the  cut  of  her  jib,  the  swell  of  her  bows, 
and  the  graceful  motion  of  the  dainty  craft  as  she  careens 
to  the  wind,  and  lifts  to  the  sea. 

Jack  sails  wholly  by  dead-reckoning  while  on  shore. 
His  land  atmosphere  is  then  so  greatly  befogged  that  he 
cannot  obtain  real  latitude  by  the  sun.  Thus  he  hastily 
moors  ship  alongside  of  the  first  dear  creature  he  meets, 
hoping  to  secure  his  "  lay  of  the  land,"  and  anchor  for 
life. 

This  sort  of  love-making  is  very  contagious  with  the 
fair  sex.  Jack's  saline  magnetism  has  an  overpowering 
quality.  Going  to  work  as  he  does  with  his  heart  in  his 
hand,  and  his  soul  in  his  eyes,  he  easily  overcomes  the 
feeble  broadside  of  a  shore  girl's  conventionalities. 

The  fault  of  a  girl's  thus  yielding  to  such  tidal  waves  of 
marine  love  is  that  it  makes  a  too  willing  prisoner  of  the 
maiden,  so  bewildered  by  Jack's  novel  sea-fog,  without 
fairly  captivating  her  heart.  Thus,  when  the  conquer 
ing  hero  makes  sail  on  his  next  cruise,  the  girl's  delusive 
love  takes  wing,  and,  alas,  she  finds  herself  yielding  the 
helm  to  the  next  noble  sea-lion  who  sails  athwart  her 
hawse. 

At  the  end  of  his  three  months'  wooing,  Raymond  still 
found  himself  "  all  at  sea  "  in  the  matter  of  love-making. 
He  was  not  yet  quite  certain  but  Mary's  previous  listless 
response  to  his  own  strong  affection  was  the  most  he  ought 


'  Tis  Our  Last  Hour.  J 

to  expect  from  an  immature  girl.  He  could  not  doubt 
but  the  girl  loved  him  after  the  fashion  of  such  coy 
maidens,  for  she  never  tired  of  receiving  his  kisses,  fondly 
holding  his  hand,  and  laying  her  downy  cheek  to  his,  so 
browned  by  the  sea  and  the  sun.  The  entrancing  creat 
ure  had  learned  to  sigh  lustily  at  every  mention  of  parting, 
and  her  eloquent  eyes  were  ever  ready  to  read  him  a 
sweet  homily  of  love.  But  all  these  passive  methods  of 
love-making  were  as^the  light  of  a  farthing  candle  to  Ray 
mond's  passionate  yearnings  for  her,  and  she  failed  to  fill 
the  aching  void  in  his  heart. 

But  now  when  Mary  was  reminded  that  the  parting 
hour  had  come,  the  nerveless  girl  woke  as  from  a  trance. 
The  impulsive  outlet  given  to  her  pent-up  feelings  amazed 
her  lover,  who  was  in  no  wise  versed  in  the  conflicting 
mazes  of  a  maiden's  heart. 

Raymond  broke  the  long  silence  by  abruptly  addressing 
the  girl  as  he  rose  to  leave  her  and  go  aboard  his  ship, 
which  was  to  sail  in  the  morning. 

"  Mary,  my  darling,  you  don't  seem  to  realize  that  this 
is  my  last  hour  on  shore." 

A  frenzied  look  came  into  the  face  and  eyes  of  the  girl, 
that  was  sad  to  behold.  Her  lips  quivered  with  emotion 
as  they  moved  with  a  voiceless  sorrow  she  could  not  dis 
close.  She  clung  to  her  lover's  hand  with  an  impetuous 
grasp,  as  if  to  detain  him.  With  an  answering  look  of 
sadness,  he  continued  to  address  her:  — 

"  I  must  leave  you,  dear  girl ;  duty  calls  me  to  the  ship. 
The  storms  and  sunshine  of  many  a  clime  must  be  en 
countered  before  I  meet  you  again.  I  leave  you,  to  be 
forgotten,  or  perhaps  remembered  only  for  a  day."  These 


8  The  Fleetwing. 

words  imparted  power  of  speech  to  the  grieved  maiden  : 
"  Oh,  no,  no !  Please  don't  say  that.  It's  so  cruel  for 
you  to  think  that  of  me,  Charles  Raymond."  And  Mary 
burst  into  tears,  adding,  between  her  sobs :  "  I  don't  forget 
my  friends  so  easily." 

"  Friends  !  "  vehemently  echoed  the  fiery  youth.  "  If 
friendship  is  the  strongest  sentiment  you  have  for  me,  I 
reject  it.  You  know  I  love  you.  May  I  not  hope  for  a 
dearer  title  to  my  Mary  ?  Tell  me,  darling  girl,  in  one 
word,  if  I  am  loved  or  not." 

Mary  buried  her  face  in  her  hands,  and  sobbed  aloud 
with  bitter  anguish.  The  influence  of  the  hallowed  night 
had  filled  her  young  heart  with  love,  unspoken  and  almost 
unutterable.  Now  the  sentiment  of  parting  had  broken 
down  the  flimsy  barrier  erected  to  shield  her  heart  at  the 
senseless  parental  command.  The  crisis  of  the  parting 
hour  had  unmasked  poor  Mary's  ambushed  love,  disclos 
ing  it  to  herself  as  well  as  her  lover,  though  her  mother's 
cruel  injunction  still  rung  in  her  ears. 

Raymond  drew  the  sorrowing  girl  tenderly  to  him. 
Parting  the  dark  hair  from  her  brow,  he  pressed  a  fervent 
kiss  upon  her  forehead.  The  inexperienced  youth  was 
still  in  grave  doubt  as  to  the  cause  of  Mary's  sorrow. 
But  catching  something  hopeful  from  her  tender,  tearful 
condition,  the  warm-hearted  sailor  drew  her  tightly  to  his 
breast  as  he  whispered  :  — 

"  Mary,  Mar)*,  my  precious  girl !  Tell  me  if  I  read 
your  tears  aright.  Tell  me  in  one  little  sentence  if  I  am 
loved.  Then  absence  and  distance,  storm  or  sunshine, 
shall  become  as  nought  to  me.  For  I  will  take  with  me 
such  an  image  of  your  grace  and  beauty  that  it  will  reflect 


Loved,  or  Unloved?  9 

like  starlight  in  every  billow  which  rocks  me  in  the  cra 
dled  deep." 

With  dilated  nostrils  and  wide  appealing  eyes,  Mary 
raised  her  tear-wet  face  to  Raymond's,  that  with  his  own 
eyes  her  lover  might  interpret  her  grief  aright.  In  answer 
to  his  words,  she  threw  her  white  arms  around  his  neck 
while  an  exquisite  glow  of  affection  illuminated  her  face, 
though  as  yet  she  was  unable  to  master  her  sobs  suffi 
ciently  to  speak. 

Raymond  turned  her  face  to  the  westing  moon,  and  let 
the  yellow  beam  stream  over  it  at  will.  Betwixt  hopes  and 
fears  he  searched  for  some  stronger  confirmation  of  her 
love  than  smiles  and  sobs.  His  enamoured  eyes  revelled 
in  the  girlish  charms  before  him,  until  his  ardent  gaze 
brought  back  the  native  crimson  to  her  cheeks. 

"  Do  you  really  love  me,  Mary  ?  "  persistently  asked  her 
lover,  in  a  half  doubting  tone.  The  girl  was  startled  with 
a  look  of  surprise  and  pain  at  the  question.  Her  dark 
eyes  broadened  and  brightened  as  she  scanned  Ray. 
mond's  face  to  catch  the  source  of  his  doubts. 

"  Oh  Charles,  how  can  you  doubt  it  ?  Should  I  will 
ingly  lie  here  in  your  arms  if  I  did  not  love  you  dearly  ? 
How  have  you  failed  to  discover  my  affection  for  you, 
long  ago?  You  can't  expect  girls  to  be  as  outspoken 
about  their  love  as  men,  —  especially  sailor-men,  who  are 
always  ready  to  eat  a  girl  up  as  if  she  were  confectionery." 

"  Perhaps  you  are  right,  dear  Mary.  I  wish  I  could 
believe  you  love  me  half  as  much  as  you  think  you  do.  I 
don't  seem  to  discover  quite  enough  of  it  to  outlast  a 
three  years'  voyage.  You  know  New  Bedford  is  a  sad 
place  for  shipwrecked  lovers.  A  true-hearted  girl  should 


io  The  Wcctwing. 

be  moored  by  her  best  bower,  if  she  wishes  to  hold  fast  to 
her  anchorage  through  a  long  whale-voyage." 

"  Then  why  not  give  up  this  hateful  voyage  ?  "  she  re 
plied,  petulantly.  "  How  dreadful !  to  think  you  have  won 
me  but  to  leave  me ;  just  as  mother  said  you  would.  You 
have  taught  me  the  rapture  of  a  bewildering  love  only  to 
plunge  me  into  the  depths  of  sorrow  by  desertion.  Is 
there  not  room  on  the  land  for  you  to  make  a  home  for 
me  ? "  And  Mary  further  pleaded  her  case  with  appeal 
ing  eyes. 

Raymond  could  not  gainsay  the  truth  of  much  she  said, 
but  he  smothered  her  unjust  demands  with  kisses ;  until 
they  clung  to  each  other  with  mutual  affection.  The  girl's 
grief  at  length  gave  way,  taking  wing  she  knew  not  how. 

"  Mary,  you  speak  truly.  I  have  won  you  but  to  leave 
you.  But  your  own  sober  sense  would  not  have  me  give 
up  the  sea.  It  is  my  vocation ;  I  love  it,  and  it  has  fos 
tered  me  with  a  kindly  hand.  Do  not  distress  our  last 
moments  by  such  a  thought." 

"  But  if  you  should  be  wrecked  and  lost  to  me,  now  that 
I  have  centred  my  affection  upon  you,  what  would  be 
come  of  me  ? " 

"  Fear  not,  little  darling ;  the  Heavenly  Father  protects 
us  as  readily  on  the  sea  as  on  the  land.  As  for  storms, 
my  pet,  we  love  them  as  you  love  the  sunshine,  if  but  the 
wind  blow  us  fair.  All  sun  and  no  cloud  is  the  whine  of 
a  land-lubber,  not  the  plea  of  a  sailor.  God  made  the  sea 
for  none  such  as  they.  Let  such  spoonies  be  content  to 
dig  the  earth,  sow  the  land,  and  get  kicked  to  death  by  a 
donkey." 

The  dreadful  night   clocks   now   struck   three  with   a 


Choosing  a  Star.  1 1 

heartless  clang  that  took  the  lovers  by  surprise.  Poor 
Marv's  face  blanched  to  the  pallor  of  death  as  she  realized 
that  their  separation  could  no  longer  be  delayed. 

"  So  late  !  "  exclaimed  Raymond,  as  he  sprung  up  from 
his  seat.  "  I  must  be  gone.  The  mate  of  the  Fleetwing 
should  be  at  his  post.  It  bids  fair  for  a  breeze,  and  we 
shall  sail  at  the  first  run  of  the  ebb.  Besides,  I  should  not 
have  kept  you  up  so  late." 

"  So  soon  !  "  pleaded  the  love-lorn  girl,  clinging  to  her 
lover  as  he  rose  to  go.  "  Oh,  how  £an  you  leave  me 
yet  ?  Promise  me  that  you  will  write  often,  by  every 
ship  homeward  bound.  And  for  my  sake  hasten  your 
return." 

"  Yes,  dear  Mary.  But  remember  many  months  elapse 
between  our  ports.  Write  me  by  every  ship  sailing  for 
Honolulu  —  our  mail  port  for  the  voyage.  And"  now  one 
more  token  from  my  darling." 

"  What  shall  it  be,  dear  Charles  ?  You  already  have 
my  picture." 

"  Yes,  and  a  dear  sweet  prize  it  is.  I  must  have  a  tiny 
bit  of  yourself.  The  veriest  little  crinkle  from  your  dainti 
est  curl.  Only  such  a  treasure  can  conjure  you  to  my  side 
when  yon  moon  keeps  watch  with  me  on  the  sea." 

"  Take  it.      Take  all  you  wish,  my  own  dear  sailor-boy." 

"  This  will  do.  Now  for  a  little  star  through  which  to 
commune  in  the  night  watches,  when  the  lonely  heart 
yearns  wildly  for  another,  and  we  lean  a  listening  ear 
out  against  the  silence  of  the  night,  hearkening  for  the 
heart  beat  of  one  we  love." 

"  Why  not  choose  Venus  ?  the  lover's  own  peculiar 
star  ? " 


1 2  The  Flectwing. 

"  Not  that,  for  the  very  reason  you  say.  It  is  too  com 
mon.  We  want  a  little  twinkle  of  our  own,  one  that  every 
brawling  tar  shall  not  pollute  when  he  toasts  his  wanton." 

"  Then,  dear,  you  must  make  choice  of  one.     Why  not 
one  of  your  bright  lunar  stars  ?  " 
( 'ould  you  find  Aldebaran  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes.  Tis  the  brightest  of  the  virtuous  Hyades, 
directly  overhead,  in  the  figure  V,  on  the  angry  head  of 
Taurus.  Nightly  the  fierce  bull  dares  Orion  to  combat." 

"  Then  Aldebaran  shall  be  our  own  star.  'Tis  red  as 
Mars  to-night,  and  always  easily  found  among  the  broken 
clouds." 

"  And  it's  so  near  the  pretty  '  Virgins  of  Spring,'  sweet 
daughters  of  Atlas.  For  thy  dear  sake,  Charles,  I  will 
emulate  their  virtue." 

And  she  smiled  sweetly  on  her  admirer,  and  put  up  her 
small  red  lips  for  guerdon.  How  sweet  a  thing  to  learn 
is  love !  Where  has  the  coyness  of  this  timid  maiden 
gone  ? 

"  Bless  you,  sweet  love  !  for  your  promise  and  your 
kiss.  You  shall  yet  become  the  sweetest  Merope  among 
the  stars.  Nor  shall  your  brightness  wane,  as  did  hers  of 
old,  for  condescending  to  a  mortal  love.  When  the  fierce 
Hull  is  again  in  the  zenith  at  midnight,  remember  to 
yearly  pluck  a  blossom  of  its  ripening  and  send  me,  and  I 
will  do  the  same  wherever  I  am." 

"  When  will  that  time  be  ?  "  *. 

"  If  you  nightly  confess  to  our  little  red  twinkle,  you 
will  not  fail  to  know.  The  constellation  of  Taurus  di 
vided  the  sidereal  year  for  the  ancients.  Its  rising  at  sun 
set  on  November  20  marked  the  beginning  of  their  winter. 


The  Betrothal.  13 

Its  rising  just  before  sunrise,  the  2oth  of  May,  denoted 
the  beginning  of  summer,  as  there  were  but  two  seasons, 
of  six  months  each,  in  those  days. 

"  Thus,  Mamie,  remember  the  Arabic  origin  and  sig 
nification  of  Aldebaran.  As  it  once  '  led  the  way  for  the 
whole  starry  hosts,'  so  may  it  now  become  the  arbiter  of 
our  fate,  and  lead  my  way  to  fortune  and  to  happiness  in 
thee." 

"  Dear  love  !  I  doat  upon  our  little  star  already,  and  I 
will  nightly  search  the  sky  for  it  when  I  invoke  the  di 
vine  blessing  upon  my  noble  sailor." 

"  Bless  you,  dear,  dear  Mary.  The  dawn  approaches, 
and  we  must  part.  One  last  kiss  and  I'll  go." 

"  Not  yet.  You  have  not  given  me  a  lock  of  your 
hair." 

With  a  touch  of  impatience  Raymond  clipped  one  of 
his  own  brown  locks  and  gave  her.  Tears  gathered  in 
her  eyes  as  she  received  the  token.  Hastily  she  bound 
the  tress  with  a  tiny  ribbon  of  blue — a  sailor's  color  — 
pressed  her  lips  to  it,  and  dropped  the  little  treasure  into 
her  bosom. 

"  One  word  more,  dear  girl.  The  disclosure  of  your 
love  has  come  so  suddenly  that  I  have  doubts  of  its  last 
ing  quality.  Let  us  make  oath  to  remain  true  till  we 
meet  again.  Here  in  the  hallowed  presence  of  our 
Maker,  I  swear  to  love  you — and  you  only — until  my 
return,  if  you  keep  tryst  with  me.  Will  you  respond,  little 
darling?" 

"  Yes,  oh  yes,  by  any  oath  you  please,"  and  with  almost 
hysterical  sobs  and  tears  Mary  Tudor  betrothed  herself 
by  a  yet  more  solemn  pledge  than  Raymond's. 


14  The  Fleetwing. 

"  I  have  asked  this,  dearest,  because  New  Bedford  is 
famous  for  its  heartless  women.  Their  deceit  has  crushed 
more  brave  hearts  and  true  than  all  the  world  beside." 

"  I  am  glad  to  strengthen  our  troth-plight,  I  do  love 
you  so." 

"  In  the  morning,  Mary,  when  the  sails  are  all  set  on 
the  Fleetwing,  let  me  see  you  here  in  this  trysting-place. 
Wave  your  last  good-by  with  this  scarf,  and  watch  for  my 
return  signal  as  I  stand  on  the  bow  taking  the  anchor." 

Snatching  a  last  hasty  kiss  from  the  weeping  girl,  Ray 
mond  gently  tore  her  tightly  clasped  arms  from  his  neck, 
breathed  a  heart-felt  prayer  for  his  new-found  treasure, 
and  tenderly  seated  her  by  the  cupola  window,  sobbing  as 
if  her  heart  would  break. 

Quickly  descending  to  the  street,  the  young  officer  has 
tened  to  the  wharf,  where  he  had  ordered  a  shore  boat 
man  to  meet  him  an  hour  before.  Little  did  either  of 
the  sad  lovers  then  deem  that  any  mortal  could  ever  sun 
der  their  strongly  plighted  loves. 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE    SURLY   OLD    BOATMAN. 

TRILLED  with  mingled  emotions,  Raymond  hastened  to 
•  the  wharf,  where  he  had  ordered  a  harbor  boatman  to 
meet  him  at  three  o'clock,  though  it  was  now  nearly  four. 
As  he  was  a  man  to  require  promptness  in  every  one,  and 
had  so  impressed  this  upon  the  old  boatman,  the  late  hour 
was  a  source  of  mortification  to  the  young  officer,  for  the 
boatman  was  already  growling  lustily  as  he  brought  his 
boat  into  the  wharf.  Hence  the  unseemly  haste  in  part 
ing  from  his  lady  love. 

How  terrible  the  separation  had  been  to  him  none  but 
a  young  lover  thus  sundered  for  years  can  know.  Yet  it 
was  a  glad  sustaining  thought  to  remember  that  he  took 
with  him  the  plighted  love  of  a  beautiful  girl.  Every 
thought  of  his  Mary  filled  him  with  ecstasy  as  he  remem 
bered  her  fond  arms  about  him,  and  it  required  a  strong 
effort  of  will  to  restrain  him  from  returning  for  yet  one 
more  interview  with  his  darling. 

While  the  boatman  was  hauling  in  to  the  steps,  the 
mate  turned  to  seek  the  moon,  now  low  down  in  the  west, 
to  note  the  passing  clouds  for  indications  of  wind  on  the 
coming  day,  half  wishing  that  a  head-wind  might  delay 
their  sailing,  so  thoroughly  bewitching  is  the  thraldom  of 
a  first  love. 

'5 


1 6  The  Fleetwing. 

While  Raymond  was  looking  searchingly  into  the  sky, 
there  among  the  red  lunar-rays  he  suddenly  beheld  a 
vision  of  his  Mary,  dimly  portrayed  upon  the  fleecy  clouds 
which  thinly  veiled  the  moon.  Her  white  arms  were 
stretched  down  to  him  from  the  sky,  with  supplicating  ges 
tures  that  seemed  to  call  him  back  to  her. 

Though  the  vision  vanished  instantly,  there  was  no  mis 
take  in  what  he  saw.  A  deathly  chill  crept  over  him. 
His.  soul  was  tortured,  and  his  strong  young  heart  almost 
rebelled.  With  the  superstition  common  to  all  sailors, 
Raymond  felt  that  the  portentous  event  was  ominous, 
and  he  unwillingly  believed  that  he  should  never  behold 
the  fair  face  of  his  Mary  again.  He  almost  feared  she 
was  already  dead,  and  the  beautiful  apparition  he  had 
seen  was  her  departed  spirit,  winging  its  way  to  the  ely- 
sium  beyond  the  stars. 

Had  not  the  boat  banged  against  the  wharf  at  that  mo 
ment,  and  dispelled  some  of  the  visionary  part  of  his  de 
lusion,  the  call  to  duty  would  have  failed  him,  and  he 
would  have  returned  to  Purchase  Street.  But  the  gruff 
voice  of  the  surly  old  boatman  was  sufficient  to  arouse 
him.  He  descended  the  slippery  steps  and  seated  him 
self  silently  in  the  stern  of  the  boat,  to  be  rudely  greeted 
with  impertinent  questions,  surmising  his  previous  where 
abouts. 

"  Well,  matey,  you've  had  yer  last  look  at  '  Heart  dig ' ; 
fur  a  fine  breeze  am  brewin'  fur  yer  sailin'." 

"  Hush  !  you  old  sinner ;  or  I'll  cast  you  into  the  water 
as  food  for  the  sharks.  You've  mistaken  your  man  this 
time." 

"Is  thet  so?     Then  I  ax  yer  parden,  mister,  fur   'tis 


Testing  his  Cargo.  \  J 

not  of'en  I'm  called  ter  ferry  ar  parson  or  ar  Puritan 
'twixt  midnight  an'  marnin'." 

"  Pull  away  and  be  silent,  if  you  wish  me  to  remember 
you've  waited  an  hour  extra  for  me  this  morning." 

"  Sickness,  or  piety  kept  yer,  mister  ?  " 

"  Silence  !  I  told  you,  or  you'll  not  get  your  extra  pay 
for  waiting." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir;  silence  it  am.  But  et  strikes  me  thet  I 
cussed  yer  for  a  picter  o'  promptness,  ez  yer  wuz  minded 
ter  spake  'bout  whin  yer  hired  me  fur  three  in  ther 
marnin',  prompt  on  ther  p'int." 

"  There,  that  will  do  ;  pull  away." 

"  Ah,  weel,  jist  ter  think  how  I  mought  o'  bin  snuggled 
up  ter  me  old  'oman  an  hour  longer,  but  fur  thet  picter  o' 
promptnis,  ez  yer  call  it." 

"  Well,  well !  pull  ahead,  you  old  torment.  Lengthen 
the  stroke  of  your  port  oar,  and  forelay  for  the  flood  tide 
in  the  river." 

"  Right,  sir,  yer  am.  Whin  ar  chap  like  me  takes  ter 
entertainin'  an  angil  in  disguise,  he's  moughty  apt  ter  fur- 
git  ther  spring  tide  that's  runnin'." 

So  the  imperturbable  old  boatman  continued  his 
humorous  gab.  He  was  oftenest  called  upon  to  ferry 
some  night  prowler  coming  from  a  debauch,  from  whom 
he  failed  not  to  elicit  an  exorbitant  fee,  in  just  accordance 
to  the  amount  of  poor  whiskey  or  brandy  smash  each  de 
linquent  contained  in  his  skin.  Even  in  Raymond's  case, 
the  blear-eyed  old  shellback  greatly  feared  he  was  being 
played  upon  by  one  of  the  pious  sons  of  Bacchus.  For 
it  is  a  source  of  pride  with  these  boatmen  never  to  be  out 
witted  by  the  morally  disposed  "  rum  ones." 


1 8  Tlic  J'/tt 

"Say,  mister,  the  sarvice  wux  ar  leedle  late  on  this 
'casion  ? " 

"Avast  there!  you're  yawing  the  boat  down  stream 
again.  Steady,  so.  Now  see  if  you  can't  belay  your  jaw- 
tackle.  I've  that  on  my  mind  just  now  that  don't  abide 
your  social  greetings." 

"Ay.  ay.  mister.  I'll  be  glum  ez  a  church  mouse. 
Ji>t  let  me  count  me  beads  fur  ter  exorcise  ther  divil,  in 
fear  there  mought  be  afhoof  in  yer  'onor's  boots,  'sted  o' 
five  'spectable  looking  toes." 

"Confound  you!" 

"  Please,  mister,  don't  swear,  ez  I'm  religiously  in 
clined,  like.  You'll  obsarve  it  becomes  a  honest  boatman 
ter  be  purtic'lar  whin  called  on  ter  pull  ar  mish'nary  chap 
at  four  in  ther  marnin'." 

"  Is  there  no  way  of  keeping  you  silent,  you  infernal 
wretch.  Who  are  you  ?  What's  your  name  ?  " 

"  Bliss  yer  'onor,  it's  arter  some  kind  'membrance  that 
ye'd  keep  o'  me  fur  ar  futer  job  in  ther  marnin'  ?  Thar 
wu/  a  name  gin  me  et  ther  'atchin',  but,  bein'  uv  ar  big 
brood,  'twas  lo£t  'fore  I  got  plumed  out.  So,  mister,  I 
hitched  onter  'nother  un.  Johnny  Jones,  at  yer  sarvice, 
sir,  ar  quiet  boatman  thet  I  am." 

"Well,  Jones,  I'll  avoid  every  fellow  of  your  name 
hereafter." 

"Thet's  ar  wrong  reflicshun,  sir.  I  niver  peach  on 
ther  young  uns  fur  ther  night  work.  I'll  not  spake  ter 
ther  parson  or  ther  timp'rance  men  'bout  its  bein'  four  in 
ther  marnin'.  You  tips  us  ther  shiner,  an'  I  shall  spake 
uv  it  ez  but  ten  in  ther  evenin'.  Ar  bully  voy'ge  ter  yer, 
mister,  fur  here  we  is  'longside  ther  clipper." 


Aboard  SJiip.  19 

The  boat  drew  up  to  the  gangway,  and  the  darkey  ship- 
keeper  swung  out  the  manropes  just  as  the  moon  was 
clipping  down  over  the  hills.  Raymond  doubled  the  fee 
of  the  tattling  old  boatman,  and  drew  himself  glibly  up 
the  ship's  side. 

"  Say,  nigger  !  yer  know  who  thet  ere  chap  is  ?  " 

"  Yes,  it's  the  mate." 

"  Hokey !  Thanks  ter  yer,  Mister  Mate.  Call  'gin, 
sumtime,  an'  I'll  not  ax  ef  yees  divil  or  angil,  ef  yer  allus 
pays  wid  ther  yeller  uns." 

Bidding  the  venerable  old  shipkeeper  to  call  him  with 
the  sun,  Raymond  passed  into  the  cabin  to  change  his 
'longshore  toggery  for  a  rig  more  suited  to  his  sea  duties 
on  the  day  of  sailing.  Betaking  himself  to  the  sofa  in 
the  captain's  cabin,  he  was  soon  lost  in  deep  repose. 


CHAPTER   III. 

WHARF    SCENES    ON    SAILING   DAY. 

sailing  of  the  Fleeting  was  long  remembered  in 
the  great  whaling  port  of  New  Bedford.  She  was  the 
first  built  of  the  famous  clipper  whalers  that  had  such 
wonderful  success  in  the  Arctic  and  Ochotsk  seas. 

Though  the  day  broke  pleasant  and  promising,  yet  not 
a  breath  of  wind  stirred  in  the  harbor  until  the  turning  of 
the  late  morning  tide.  People  bordering  on  both  sides 
of  the  Acushnet  were  greatly  interested  on  the  occasion. 
Old  and  young  climbed  to  the  housetops,  or  embarked  in 
boats  of  every  description  about  the  harbor. 

The  native  heredity  of  sailor-born  children  is  a  most 
remarkable  patrimony. 

So  strong  is  the  shinning  propensity  of  these  unfledged 
sailors  on  sailing  day,  that  every  urchin  born  of  web- 
footed  parents  may  be  seen  climbing  the  lamp-posts  and 
mounting  the  trees.  Even  creeping  infants  —  Jack  t  .is 
in  pin-feathers — aspire  to  climb  beanpoles  and  broom 
sticks,  in  justifiable  emulation  of  their  daddies. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  assert  that  many  of  the  monkey- 
toed  sailor-progeny  of  New  Bedford  were  born  with  little 
marline-spikes  in  hand,  though  we  are  fain  to  believe  that 
the  modest  town  records  have  never  recorded  the 
fact. 

to 


Jack's  Weather  Bureau.  2 1 

Early  on  this  eventful  day,  more  than  a  thousand  sea 
going  men  gathered  about  the  wharves,  eager  to  render 
officious  aid  to  the  departing  ship ;  all  executing  various 
nautical  evolutions  of  importance  as  they  came  upon  the 
scene.  Some  were  seen  hastily  coming  to  anchor,  in 
mortal  fear  of  being  too  late  for  the  occasion.  Others 
were  laboriously  getting  under  way,  shifting  their  anchor 
age  for  a  better  view.  While  some,  more  indolent  than 
their  fellows,  lazily  moored  ship  on  an  old  cask  for  the  day, 
or  gallantly  caulked  down  at  full  length  on  the  unoccu 
pied  cap-logs  of  the  wharf  —  intent  upon  remaining  until 
starvation  compelled  them  to  unmoor. 

The  most  weather-wise  of  these  old  shellbacks  were 
seen  cockbilling  their  bald  heads  to  starboard  or  a-port, 
squinting  alow  and  aloft  to  note  the  "mare's  tails"  in  the 
horizon,  and  the  "  mackerel-back  sky  "  above,  cunningly 
estimating  the  chances  of  a  coming  breeze  for  the  new 
ship.  These  prodigies  were  the  revered  oracles  of  the 
port,  to  whom  the  venerating  crowd  willingly  furnished 
"  pigtail "  and  hardtack  that  they  need  not  shift  their 
quarters  for  the  day. 

Joking  aside,  there  is  certainly  a  three-corned  attic 
chamber  moored  somewhere  under  every  sailor's  hat, 
wherein  he  carries  a  full  rigged  "Weather  Bureau"  —  a 
ready  reference  for  all  time.  What  a  quaint-looking 
receptacle  it  must  be;  decorated  with  salt-smelling  sea- 
shells,  dried  kelp,  and  mermaid's  hair;  together  with 
stuffed  Mother  Carey's  chickens,  and  a  full-fledged  gony 
over  the  door. 

Hidden  away  in  these  grotesque  "  bureaus  "  the  briny 
old  tars  keep  tally  of  wind  and  weather,  and  the  course 


22  T/ic  Fleet  wing. 

and  tlistance  to  every  land  ;  together  with  photographic 
\ie\vs  of  every  rock,  shoal  or  headland  they  have  ever 
seen.  So  constantly  is  Jack's  attention  given  to  meteor 
ology  during  his  long  voyages,  that  atmospheric  phe 
nomena  become  a  sort  of  third  nature  to  him  —  rum  and 
tobacco  being  recorded  as  his  first  and  second  natures, 
with  lobscouse  and  hardtack  sandwiched  in  somewhere 
between. 

Such  being  the  case,  one  would  expect  to  find  an  odd 
mixture  of  calms  and  storms,  squalls  and  doldrums,  lying 
around  confusedly  in  a  tarry  sailor's  noddle-box.  Yet  it 
is  not  so.  Question  a  venerable  old  shellback  about  his 
half-century  of  seagoing  life,  and  you  will  find  his  log 
books  and  mental  records  of  the  Horn,  Cape  Frio,  or  St. 
Helena  all  clearly  kept  in  his  methodical  mind,  as  clear 
as  is  his  subtle  knowledge  of  the  ship's  vast  snarl  of 
ropes,  stays,  shrouds,  and  bobstays,  matters  ever  confusing 
to  a  landsman. 

Everything  about  the  wharves  on  this  particular  morn 
ing  was  in  the  greatest  state  of  disorder,  yet  it  must  have 
been  a  very  paradise  of  propriety  to  Jack.  Some  of  the 
.ships  had  just  arrived  from  a  three  years'  voyage.  Some 
had  discharged  their  oil,  which  lay  tiered  at  the  base  of 
the  wharf  thickly  covered  with  seaweed.  Other  ships 
were  lying  completely  dismantled,  their  masts  stripped  to 
a  girtline,  as  if  the  final  hour  of  dissection  had  come. 

Several  vessels  were  hove  down  keel  out,  in  the  hands 
of  the  noisy  caulkers,  whose  great  floating  stages  were 
moored  alongside ;  whereon  was  mounted  the  boiling 
pitch-pot,  and  the  cra.te  of  hemp  oakum — priceless  per 
fumes  to  Jack's  olfactories.  These  ships  were  having 


Sailor  J\Tcn.  23" 

their  bottoms  scraped  and  caulked,  and  being  newly 
sheathed  and  coppered  for  a  voyage  —  and  many  a  sly 
sailor  watched  that  the  job  was  well  done,  if  he  intended 
to  go  cruising  in  the  craft. 

About  the  outfitters'  shops,  along  the  adjacent  streets, 
were  also  gathered  every  grade  of  seaman.  The  crude- 
looking  land-lubbers  made  themselves  most  conspicuous  — 
ardent  youths  dressed  somewhat  too  previous  in  their  awk 
wardly  appearing  sea-rigs  —  outsailoring  the  saltest  tar  in 
the  crowd. 

But  the  real  simon-pure  sailors  were  also  abundant 
among  the  group.  The  rollicking,  rolling,  devil-me-care 
salts,  wearing  blue  trousers  an^  flannel  shirts,  their 
shining  tarpaulins  tipped  with  a  list  a-port ;  these  were 
the  solid  substantial  seamen.  Men  who  could  not  only 
"  hand-reef-and-steer,"  but  could  also  house  a  topmast,  or 
rig  a  "jury,"  and  pull  a  feathering  oar  that  never  tires. 
The  counterfeit  of  such  men  —  base  skulkers,  who  ship 
to  do  a  sailor's  work  that  they  never  learned  —  are 
deemed  baser  coin  afloat  than  any  fraud  Known  to  the 
financial  world  ashore. 

The  sedate  and  well-mannered  officers  were  there  — 
men  dressed  in  'longshore  toggery  of  frock-coat  and  white 
shirt.  These  notables  are  the  mates,  the  boat-headers, 
who  can  bring  the  claret  from  a  running  whale  by  pitching 
their  lance  from  the  tip  of  the  flukes  into  the  palpitating 
hollow  over  the  shoulder.  Most  of  these  were  dignified, 
noble-looking  men,  wearing  manly,  open  faces  that  would 
be  a  passport  anywhere. 

Numerous  boat-steerers  could  be  discovered^  here  and 
there  among  the  vast  jumble  of  sea-craft.  Men  who  find 


24  77te  Flcetiving. 

caste  somewhere  between  the  cabin  mates  and  the  fore 
castle  men  ;  a  high  grade  of  the  best  class  of  seamen. 
Real  heroes,  who  delight  to  toy  with  a  fighting  whale  as 
a  child  plays  with  a  kitten.  Chaps  who  are  often  thrust 
just  the  length  of  the  boat  nearer  to  a  mad  whale  than  a 
timorous  officer  likes  to  venture  himself.  They  are  easily 
distinguished  by  their  dainty  blue  jackets,  low-quartered 
shoes,  and  French  calico  shirts. 

With  a  boat-steerer  it  is  etiquette  to  dangle  a  flashy 
handkerchief  from  the  left  breast  pocket,  and  to  assume 
a  little  nautic  roll  in  his  see-saw  gait,  imitating  an  India- 
man  rolling  down  to  St.  Helena. 

The  boat-steerer  is  an  aspiring  genius,  always  having  an 
eye  to  his  duty  on  shipboard ;  a  careful,  painstaking  man, 
who  mixes  his  grog  a  trifle  too  thin  to  make  drunk  come, 
ever  aiming  to  become  an  officer.  He  is  thought  to  be 
excusable  for  always  talking  about  harpoons,  and  the  way 
to  dart  them.  Innocently  illustrating  his  methods  on  a 
sure  dart  by  letting  fly  a  carving-fork  at  the  cat,  which 
foolishly  leaps  through  the  window,  frightening  the  house 
hold  by  smashing  the  glass,  going  lick-it-to-cut  to  wind 
ward  ;  thus  keeping  up  the  farce  of  a  mad  whale  running 
in  the  wind's  eye. 

The  boat-steerer  also  has  an  alert  eye  to  becoming  a 
family  man  —  like  his  superior  officers  —  and  the  cute 
ones  among  the  marriageable  girls  discuss  his  qualities 
with  wonderful  acumen,  seeking  to  tackle  the  web-footed 
fellow  to  shore  harness  in  good  time.  It  is  he  who  is 
often  seen  sailing  down  the  street  wing-and-wing,  a 
pretty  girl  on  each  yard  arm.  Not  that  this  animated 
piece  of  whaling-gear  seeks  to  become  Mormonistic, 


The  Clipper.  25 

looking  to  marry  both  girls,  —  only  that  the  marriageable 
girls  of  New  Bedford  are  so  eager,  you  know.  And  then 
the  brave  harponier  also  seeks  to  show  his  shipmates  the 
wonderful  prestige  he  has  acquired  among  the  shore 
beauties  by  his  daring  deeds  on  the  past  voyage.  He  is 
thought  to  be  less  harmful  when  thus  tackled  to  two 
beauties  than  when  he  swaggers  around  among  the  cats 
and  puppies  with  a  carving-fork  in  his  hand. 

Among  the  eighty  ships  lying  at  the  busy  wharves,  or 
anchored  in  the  stream  above  Palmer's  Island,  were  many 
fine  vessels,  built  on  approved  modern  moulds,  but  none 
that  had  ever  attracted  such  attention  as  the  clipper  ship 
Fleetwing.  She  was  indeed  a  sight  to  gladden  the 
seaman's  eye,  with  the  fine  curves  of  her  hull,  and  her 
taunt  and  taper  masts. 

Thousands  of  eager  eyes  viewed  her  from  the  housetops 
and  the  crowded  wharves,  impatient  to  see  her  sail.  The 
long  snakish  hull  was  painted  black  as  a  raven's  wing, 
slightly  relieved  by  a  red  line  along  the  planksheer  and  a 
broader  ribbon  of  white  around  the  main  rail.  Though 
some  of  her  lines  were  radical,  yet  they  were  graceful  and 
symmetrical  in  every  feature.  Her  extreme  sharpness 
impressed  one  with  the  daring  of  her  builder,  who  had 
aspired  to  a  wide  departure  from  all  previous  moulds  of 
conservative  shipwrights. 

With  a  length  of  not  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  over  all,  the  Fleetwing  was  built  to  break  her 
water  more  than  forty  feet  back  from  her  stem.  Yet 
there  was  such  a  broad  sheer  to  the  bow,  above  water, 
that  she  certainly  would  not  bury  in  a  seaway.  Another 
innovation  commented  upon  was  her  great  breadth  of 


26  The  Fleet  icing. 

beam,  for  the  vessel  was  thirty-two  feet  amidships,  with 
quick-tapering  quarters,  ending  in  a  charming  round  stern, 
the  especial  delight  of  all. 

Her  figure-head  was  a  gilded  sea-bird  just  unfolding  its 
wings  for  flight.  The  beak  and  neck  were  stretched  out 
over  the  cutwater  with  an  eager,  alert  look,  which  well 
personified  the  name  Fleetwing. 

A  dapper-looking  gentleman  with  a  white  cravat  pushed 
his  way  through  the  crowd  on  the  wharf,  and  ventured  to 
express  his  admiration  of  the  vessel ;  which  induced  an 
old  gray-headed,  pud"ding-faced  skipper  to  join  in  the 
chorus  of  praise. 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir,  there's  many  a  fine  thing  to  admire  'bout 
thet  ere  new  craft.  She's  modelled  by  Dan  Talbert — her 
cap'n  —  an  old  friend  o'  mine.  An',  mister,  when  I  tell 
yer  thet  her  keel  am  three  foot  deeper  aft  than  for'ard  — 
with  a  round  forefoot  at  thet  —  ye  may  well  wonder  at 
the  novelty  o'  the  ship.'' 

"  You  do  amaze  me,  captain.  Isn't  that  an  unheard-of 
innovation  ? " 

i  exactly.  Cap'n  Dan  tells  us  he  got  the  idee 
from  the  Chinee  sampans,  thet  have  rocker  keels,  an'  am 
mighty  weatherly  ;  an'  they  turn  quick  on  their  centre. 
While  the  junks  of  the  Chinee  an'  the  Japs  wear  ships  on 
their  heels,  from  havin'  deep  wide  rudders.  Talbert 
thinks  thet  builders  pay  too  much  'tendon  to  the  bow 
parts  o'  vessels,  to  the  neglect  uv  a  long  clean  run,  an'  a 
deep  keel  aft." 

"How  is  that,  my  friend  ?"  The  white  cravat  seemed 
bent  on  knowing  all  about  the  clipper,  or  perhaps  he  en 
joyed  the  quaint  lingo  of  the  superannuated  spouter. 


The  Quicksands.  27 

"  Why,  sir,  it's  not  so  much  how  a  craft  grapples  her 
water  for'ard,  as  bein'  able  to  let  go  the  pesky  stuff  astarn, 
an'  not  drag  a  mile  o'  dead  water  under  her  counters.  You 
see,  matey,  the  Fleetwing's  best  beam  is  well  for'ard ;  an' 
sich  a  clean  run  as  hern  wus  never  seen  'fore  on  a  craft 
o'  her  size.  An'  jist  twig  her  set  on  the  water !  She's 
lean-bellied  as  a  finback  whale  —  the  race-horse  of  the 
seas." 

"  Where  does  this  fine  vessel  go  for  her  voyage  ?  " 

"  To  the  mouth  o'  the  Amoor  river,  jist  the  most  dan 
gerous  whaling-ground  ever  travelled  by  a  keel.  But 
Dan  Talbert  an'  Jim  Allen  have  got  some  rousin'  voy'ges 
down  the  Sagalien  gulf,  in  spite  o'  the  quicksands  in  the 
river,  an'  the  northers  that  blow  there." 

"  What's  the  trouble  about  the  quicksands  ?  " 

"  Trouble  !  Why,  mister,  a  ship  in  a  quicksand  sails 
like  a  toad  in  a  tar-bucket.  If  she  takes  to  the  ground 
in  a  quicksand,  she  becomes  an  island  in  an  hour's  time. 
The  ship  '  City,'  o'  New  Bedford,  was  lost  thet  way  under 
me  own  eye.  Then  there's  the  northers ;  but  the  deep 
keel  o'  the  Fleetwing  will  walk  her  to  wind'ard  like  a 
Mother  Carey  in  a  Cape  squall." 

"Why  not  deepen  her  keel  the  whole  length  of  the 
ship  ? " 

"  Bless  you,  no.  Such  a  craft  would  travel  too  big  cir 
cles  in  tackin',  an'  lose  all  her  headway.  An'  she  would 
take  a  week  o'  Sundays  to  wear  ship.  Them  gales  in  the 
Amoor  wouldn't  stan'  no  sich  nonsense.  Shiver  my  tim 
bers  !  why,  I  lost  more'n  a  pailful  o'  me  old  gray  hair 
beatin'  out  o'  that  devilish  place  in  a  storm." 

"  How  was  that  ?  " 


28  Tlic  l:l  editing. 


"  How  WHS  it  !  Look  you,  young  chap,  the  pesky  hair 
stood  so  stiff  with  fright  that  the  thunderin'  gale  carried 
away  every  spear  by  the  board.  The  pigtails  down  in 
China  seed  it  comin'  an'  thought  'twas  the  Northen  Lights 
shiftin'  ground  for  the  Antar'tic." 

"  Dangerous  place,  by  your  account,  captain." 
"  Dangerous,  ha  !  See  here,  stranger.  The  Amoor 
runs  straight  out  into  the  gulf  ;  the  eastern  edge  is  jist 
five  miles  frum  the  shore.  Beatin'  out  'tween  land  and 
river  in  a  gale,  there's  quicksands  on  one  side  an'  mur- 
d'rous  natives  on  t'other,  who'll  skin  a  feller  for  his  hide 
an'  taller.  When  on  the  shore  tack  in  a  night  gale,  we 
trust  wholly  to  the  hand-lead,  an'  go  'bout  instanter  when 
we  shoal  to  quarter  less  five.  On  the  river  tack  we're 
guided  by  the  amount  o'  sand  in  the  water.  When  near- 
ing  the  quicksand  we  draw  a  bucket  o'  water  every  five 
minutes,  until  'tis  three  sands  to  one  water.  Then,  sir,  — 
why,  hang  my  toplights  !  an  intelligent  ship  will  go  'bout 
on  t'other  tack  herself,  feared  o'  bein'  made  a  sand  island 
uv  'fore  mornin'." 

"  So  you  won't  likely  cruise  there  again  ?  " 
"  Nary  a  time,  you  bet.  Never'll  catch  Cap'n  Tom  in 
that  dreadful  place  agin.  I  make  a  pint  o'  keepin'  on 
the  pious  tack,  —  keepin'  the  best  dead-reckonin'  I  knows 
on  to  'scape  the  two  most  tarnal  places  in  creashun  :  the 
hot  place  the  parson  parlez  vous  about,  an'  the  infernal 
Amoor  river." 

"  That's  the  secret  of  your  piety,  is  it,  captain  ?  " 
"  Yis,  it  am.     An',  mister,  I  think  more  uv  dodgin'  the 
last  place  than  the   fust  one.     Fur  there's  a  durned  sight 
better  chance  uv  a  sinner's  weatherin'  Tophet  with  the 


TJie  Gnn-Fire.  29 

lee  leech  o'  his  mainsail  burnin',  than  uv  savin'  his  ship 
beatin'  through  a  quicksand  'gin  an  A  moor  snorter." 

"A  tough  place,  certainly.  What's  the  meaning  of  that 
gun-fire  from  the  Fleetwing  ?  " 

"  Thet's  a  loud  call  fur  the  pilot."  And  the  old  skipper 
reflectively  watched  the  gun-smoke  gyratingnn  the  air. 

"  Isn't  that  the  pifot,  sculling  himself  off   to  the  ship  ?  " 

"  Sure  'nough.  Old  Ben  Aiken  has  her  in  hand.  Cap'n 
Dan,  wife,  and  little  chick  will  soon  have  to  cut  adrift 
their  land-fasts  an'  go  'board." 

"  Does  the  captain  take  his  wife  and  child  ?  " 

"  Yes,  matey.  An'  many  a  heart-string  must  go  by  the 
board  when  separatin'  fur  a  three  years'  voy'ge.  When 
the  tide  ebbs,  I  think  I'll  take  one  more  look  'board  the 
new  ship.  I'd  like  once  more  to  feel  the  sea-motion 
under  sail  uv  sich  a  fleet  creatur  as  she  am." 

"  Well,  many  thanks,  captain,  for  your  story  of  the  Fleet- 
wing.  I  shall  remember  her  with  interest  after  what  you 
have  told  me.  What  may  I  call  your  name,  sir  ?  " 

"  Tom  Coffin  —  Captain  Tom  —  who  dates  his  title  uv 
nobility  from  his  big  voy'ge  in  the  Briganza." 

"Ah,  Captain  Coffin,  glad  to  meet  you.  I  remember 
your  great  voyage  well.  Here's  my  card,  sir.  Should  be 
iglad  to  see  you  at  the  parsonage  in  "  — • 

"  Oh,  hokey  !  A  parson,  eh  ?  Wouldn't  ye  like  to  go 
'board  the  new  ship  with  me,  when  the  tide  turns  ?  An' 
mebbe  you'll  parbuckle  a  blessin'  aboard.  No  harm  in 
sich  a  article  ef  it  comes  frum  a  honest  heart." 

"  Yes,  if  it  were  not  intruding  too  much." 

"  Nary  a  bit,  parson  ;  onless  duty  prompts  yer  to  look 
glum  when  we  splice  the  mainbrace  at  partin'." 


30  The  Flcetu'ing. 

"  No  fear  of  that,  captain.  If  the  wine  is  good,  I  shall 
lend  a  hand  in  splicing  myself." 

"  Spoken  like  a  genuine  buster.  I  know'd  by  the  cut  o' 
yer  jib  you  wusn't  an  infernal  Pro'bitionist,  one  who'd 
water  a  feller's  grog  till  he  couldn't  sail  on  a  taut  bowlin'. 
Come  round  agin  when  the  ship  tails  down  stream,  an'  I'll 
take  yer  off." 

"  Thanks,  captain.  I'll  be  here  in  time."  And  the  two 
worthies  parted  for  the  present. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE    FLEETWING   AND    HER    CREW. 

T^HE  young  mate  of  the  Fleetwing  was  up  with  the  sun, 
*•  looking  critically  at  everything  about  the  vessel,  pre 
paratory  to  getting  under  way.  Most  of  the  seamen  were 
on  board,  and  all  the  officers  but  the  second  mate.  The 
crew  were  set  to  work  tidying  up  matters  here  and  there 
about  the  ship,  while  cook  and  steward  were  preparing 
breakfast. 

Raymond  was  observed  peering  zealously  about  the 
ship  with  admiring  glances,  justly  proud  of  being  the  chief 
officer  of  such  a  jaunty  craft.  To  him  the  beautiful  thing 
seemed  to  be  almost  a  living,  breathing  creature,  a  craft 
born  to  be  queen  of  the  seas.  To  him  there  was  a  wide 
awake  look  about  the  ship's  set  upon  the  water  that 
touched  his  sailor-heart  tenderly.  The  vessel's  gentle 
tip  by  the  stern  was  very  suggestive  to  a  nautical  eye. 
The  persuasive  lift  of  her  bow  made  the  alert  creature 
seem  impatient  to  be  gone  —  eager  fora  tussle  of  any 
kind  with  the  boisterous  element  she  was  built  to  subdue. 

As  Raymond  stood  on  the  hurricane-house,  looking 
about,  the  morning  sun  glistened  on  the  burnished  binna 
cle-hood,  and  the  brass  capstan-head,  from  which  the  busy 
ship  boys  had  just  wiped  the  night  dew.  The  polished 

31 


32  The  Fleet  wing. 

manrope  stanchions  flashed  back  the  hot  beams  over  the 
mirrored  waters  of  the  bay.  The  gilded  vane  at  the 
main-royal  truck  coquetted  timidly  with  the  golden  beams, 
toying  daintily  with  the  baffling  airs  in  the  upper  world, 
as  a  maiden's  fingers  play  with  her  curls  in  the  presence 
of  her  lover. 

The  ship's  flags  were  fetched  from  the  transom  locker, 
and  the  new  ensign  was  run  up  to  the  peak,  where  it 
hung  limp  and  abashed  from  the  gaff  in  the  windless  air. 
The  beautiful  flag  was  yet  unused  to  its  proud  duty  of 
symbolizing  the  nation.  The  owner's  color  was  set  at 
the  main-royal  truck,  unwilling  as  yet  to  unfurl  the  ship's 
name,  worked  by  dainty  fingers,  in  its  folds.  The  Union 
Jack,  with  its  blue  ground  and  white  stars,  drooped  at  the 
fore,  a  sailing  signal  which  refused  to  blow  forth  and 
notify  the  world  of  the  ship's  departure.  Yet  its  very 
presence  at  the  masthead  brought  off  countless  boats  of 
ever)-  description  from  the  neighboring  towns. 

The  tide  would  not  run  fair  until  ten  o'clock,  —  some 
hours  hence,  —  yet  already  there  was  a  busy  scene  about 
the  bay,  people  eager  to  watch  the  sailing,  and  repeat 
their  oft-spoken  farewells  to  friends  on  board. 

The  sails  were  not  yet  loosed.  Every  well  stowed  bunt 
shone  like  a  fresh  snowdrift  in  the  strong  glare  of  the 
newly  risen  sun.  The  running  rigging  lay  snugly  coiled 
on  the  belaying-pins,  hauled  taut  and  made  tidy  by 
thoughtful  hands.  The  windlass-brakes  were  shipped  in 
their  places,  made  ready  to  round  in  the  cable  with  cheery 
song  and  chorus. 

A  large  threefold  tackle  was  hanging  from  a  pendant, 
suspended  from  the  foretopmast  head,  ready  to  ca^t  and 


Tlie  Homesick  Crew.  33 

fish  the  anchor  the  moment  it  was  hove  to  the  bow. 
The  starboard  gangway-board  was  out,  and  the  whip- 
tackle  slung  over  it  from  the  main  yard-arm  was  fre 
quently  kept  busy  hoisting  in  the  chests,  and  other  sea- 
truck,  belonging  to  the  few  laggard  sailors  as  they  came 
on  board. 

In  the  brief  intervals  when  no  labor  was  required  of 
them,  the  sailors  were  seen  scattered  about  the  ship  in 
picturesque  groups.  A  cluster  of  brand-new  sailors  were 
mounted  upon  the  topgallant  forecastle,  dressed  in  their 
new  slop-chest  clothes  of  variegated  colors,  leaning  lazily 
over  the  bow,  bandying  wit  with  the  passing  boatmen, 
making  a  manly  effort  to  hide  the  sadness  now  brooding 
over  the  hearts  of  all. 

A  few  young  green  hands,  yet  too  crude  to  have  learned 
a  sailor's  place  on  board,  were  lounging  over  the  midship- 
rail,  casting  wistful,  homesick  glances  ashore,  a  heart 
breaking  sadness  vividly  depicted  on  their  fresh  young 
faces.  To  these  home-brewed  boys  the  beautiful  ship  and 
the  strange  romance  of  the  sea  could  not  wholly  displace 
the  dear  home  scenes  from  which  they  were  parted,  per 
haps  forever. 

None  better  than  the  real  sailors  know  how  to  hide  their 

I 

sadness  and  sorrow  at  such  times.  Yet  their  assumed 
gayety  and  sparkling  wit,  and  the  subtle  foil  of  rude  jokes 
flung  at  the  passing  boatmen,  cannot  always  quench  the 
pathetic  tear,  or  subdue  the  quivering  lip,  when  some 
loved  hand  signals  a  last  farewell  from  the  shore. 

A  gang  of  experienced  seamen  were  running  their 
eyes  thoughtfully  over  the  ship,  sharply  criticising  every 
new  crinkle  they  discovered,  their  hearts  already  filled 


34  The  Fleetwing. 

with  love  and  pride  for  the  maritime  beauty  to  which  they 
were  willingly  wedded  for  years. 

Another  group  of  real  old  shellbacks  stood  apart  from 
their  fellows,  with  arms  akimbo,  mounted  on  the  larboard 
cathead,  or  astride  of  the  windlass-bitts  and  the  samson 
post,  eagerly  scanning  every  spar  and  rope  with  rapt  at 
tention.  The  keen  eyes  of  these  aged  connoisseurs  fol 
lowed  the  lead  of  the  great  shrouds  from  the  chain-plates 
to  the  hounds ;  traced  the  taut  backstays  up  to  the  cross- 
trees  and  the  bolsters  in  the  dizzy  distance  aloft,  sol 
emnly  holding  forth  upon  the  strength  and  solidity  of  all 
they  saw. 

The  faces  of  these  venerable  sons  of  Neptune  beamed 
with  senile  delight  at  the  neatness  of  everything  they 
looked  upon  ;  though  in  proper  keeping  with  the  gnarled 
character  of  each,  they  chuckled  and  growled  over  even- 
new-fangled  method  they  saw.  Two  of  these  bronzed  old 
sea-dogs  were  Captain  Talbert's  pet  sailors,  older  and 
more  experienced  than  the  skipper  himself. 

The  chest  of  one  of  these  patriarchs  was  haired  like  a 
bison's,  as  disclosed  by  .his  wide  gaping  shirt,  while  he 
pointed  out  the  new  rig  of  the  windlass-gear,  which  he 
had  admonished  the  captain  to  use.  So  by  his  advice 
there  were  patent  chain-stoppers  which  grappled  every 
link  of  cable  that  passed  the  hawse-pipe,  by  which  noth 
ing  was  lost  when  the  chain  slipped  on  the  quick-rolling 
windlass. 

"  Ay,  Tom,"  said  his  companion,  "  an'  twig  ye  the  new 
method  o'  holdin'  the  anchor-ring  at  the  cathead,  trippin' 
the  ring-stopper,  when  lettin'  go  the  anchor,  by  a  blow 
with  a  hammer." 


Old  Shellbacks.  35 

The  shore  and  all  its  pilfering  "  land-sharks,"  who  for 
months  had  played  upon  the  credulity  of  these  salt  souls, 
were  already  forgotten.  They  had  put  off  the  very  thought 
of  the  land  with  good  relish,  and  were  at  home  again  upon 
the  deep.  One  of  these  brawny  fellows  clapped  his  great 
horny  palm  on  the  knightheads  where  he  sat,  as  he  ex 
claimed,  in  semi-pathetic  tone  :  — 

"  Ah,  Tom  Crawford,  me  old  heart  warms  to'ard  sich  a 
fresh  new  craft  as  this  un.  Her  saucy  set  on  the  sea,  an' 
the  pretty  rake  o'  her  spars,  pumped  a  pint  o'  sweet  tears 
inter  me  old  binnacle-lights  as  we  uns  pulled  out  frum  the 
wharf  yester'  noon.  An'  look  ye,  Tom,  when  I  got  'board 
her  wid  me  sea-truck,  I  shinned  out  onter  the  bowsprit, 
soon's  me  chist  wuz  below,  an'  I'd  chalked  B.  Buntlin'  on 
a  starboard  bunk-board.  I  moored  me  by  the  bowsprit 
cap,  an'  squinted  at  her  sheer,  an'  looked  along  her  lines, 
till  me  rusty  old  heart  grew  big  as  a  scuttle-butt,  for  the 
love  of  the  critter."  And  spoony  old  Ben  wiped  the  salt 
dew  from  his  eyes. 

"  Yis,  Ben,  she  am  ar  be'uty.  But  I'm  too  old  to  blub 
ber  much  'bout  new-fangled  notions.  An'  p'raps  I's  too 
full  o'  bilge  water  jist  now,  arter  our  long  tussle  with  the 
cheap  grog  o'  the  lubberly  beach  combers  yonder.  But, 
Buntlin',  the  chap  whose  axe  hewed  out  a  clean  run  like 
hern,  to  take  the  gripe  out  o'  her  helm  in  ar  sea-way  am 
ar  gospil  man.  An'  God  bless  'im,  say  I." 

"  Ay,  matey,  the  critter'll  steer  like  ar  yacht.  Not  ar 
chistful  o'  dead  water  can  play  hide-an'-seek  'bout  her 
rudder." 

"Why,  look  ye,  Ben,  on  me  last  voy'ge  in  the  Skipjack, 
forty  year  ago,  we  carried  a  school  o'  minnows  an'  pilot- 


36  The  Flcctwing. 

fish  under  our  counter  fur  years.  There  wuz  a  acre  o' 
dead  slops  dragging  arter  the  humpbacked  old  critter  the 
whole  vqy'ge." 

"True  'nough,  Tom.  I  'member  gaming  'board  thet 
old  hooker.  But  there  comes  the  pilot.  He's  scullin'  his 
own  boat ;  whistlin'  jigs  like  ar  bugler,  tryin'  to  tempt  the 
clerk  o'  the  weather  to  make  a  breeze  fur  us  uns." 

"Ay,  old  Ben  Aiken  am  ar  rum  un.  He  carries  his 
big  red  snout  in  the  air  like  ar  sword-fish  worshippin'  the 
sun." 

"  He  sniffs  ar  breeze,  old  Ben  duz,  calm  ex  it  am." 

"  Well,  the  sun  am  less  hot  than  he  wuz.  There's  a 
wee  bit  o'  scud  skulkin'  yonder  in  the  nor'west.  Gather 
down  out  o'  this  ere,  boys.  Our  bully  mate's  commin' 
for'ard  to  'wake  the  dead,'  ready  to  get  under  way." 

"  Forecastle  there  !  "  hailed  the  mate.  "  Belay  your 
yarns  to  the  nearest  belaying-pin,  and  be  up  and  about." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir,"  answered  Crawford. 

"Tom,  my  lad,  fling  a  warp  to  the  pilot.  Buntlin', 
gather  up  the  chain-hooks,  and  teach  some  of  these  young 
sters  how  to  use  them."  And  the  mate  allotted  some  per 
tinent  duty  to  all  the  idlers. 

It  was  not  much  after  nine  o'clock  when  the  venerable 
pilot  came  up  the  side.  He  clutched  the  manrope  stan 
chions  a  minute  to  get  his  wind  after  his  climb  up  the 
side,  and  then  squatted  like  a  toad  on  the  monkey-rail,  to 
take  his  first  view  of  the  new  ship.  He  had  kept  himself 
ready  to  come  off  at  the  first  indication  of  slack  water,  in 
fear  of  trouble. 

Even  now,  so  evenly  balanced  were  the  meeting  waters, 
—  the  downrlow  of  the  river  and  the  upflow  of  the  tide, — 


Ben  Aikcn.  37 

that  the  ship  still  tailed  against  the  stream,  though  she 
rode  boldly  up  to  her  anchor  by  a  slack  cable. 

It  was  just  this  condition  of  things  which  the  knowing 
old  pilot  came  off  to  look  after ;  fretting  and  fuming  lest 
the  new  craft  should  override  her  anchor,  and  give  him  a 
foul  cable  to  deal  with  when  getting  under  way,  an  ill- 
omened  event  for  any  vessel  to  start  out  with. 

A  most  comical  grin  crawled  slowly  out  to  the  tip  of  his 
rubicund  nose  from  among  the  wrinkles  of  his  tanned  old 
face,  mounted  to  his  eyes,  and  there  elevated  his  shaggy 
brows  to  a  look  of  surprise,  when  he  saw  that  the  young 
mate  had  completely  anticipated  the  whole  difficulty. 

Raymond  had  shortened  the  buoy-rope  during  the  early 
morning,  and  brought  the  buoy  plumb  over  the  anchor, 
that  it  should  indicate  just  where  the  bower  lay.  And  he 
had  taken  the  further  precaution  to  run  out  a  boat-anchor 
.toward  the  Fairhaven  shore,  by  which  a  couple  of  men 
were  even  then  slowly  warping  the  ship  clear  of  her  moor 
ings,  fast  as  the  tide  slacked  on  the  cable. 

A  gruff,  hollow-bellied  laugh  was  the  cunning  old  pilot's 
first  method  of  showing  his  approbation  of  the  young 
officer's  thoughtfulness ;  sitting  there  humped  up  on  the 
rail,  grinning  a  long-continued  grin,  like  a  showman's 
automatic  monkey.  At  length  he  found  voice  :  — 

"  Bless  our  soul !  Charlie  Raymond,  how  are  ye  ?  I 
see  Cap'n  Dan  has  got  the  right  man  in  the  right  place 
this  time.  Bright  boy,  you  un.  You  not  on'y  know'd 
what  ter  do  in  this  kinky  river-anchorage  of  ourn,  but,  fur 
ar  wonder,  you're  right  'ere  on  the  spot  ter  do  the  proper 
thing.  Many  'nether  mate  I  knows  on  would  be  at 
'Hard  Dig'  or  'Dog  Corner,'  dancing  his  last  jig,  an' 


38  The  Fleetwing. 

sippin'  his  last  glass  o'  flip  with  Miss  Nancy,  'stead   o' 
lookin'  arter  his  ship." 

"  That's  not  my  style,  Captain  Aiken.  Captain  Talbert 
don't  leave  that  sort  of  men  in  charge  of  his  ship." 

"Right,  boy.  One  oughter  know  an  officer  by  the 
bringin'  up  he's  had.  Mates  all  aboard  ? " 

"  All  but  the  second  mate." 

"  Ah  !  Dave  Braybrook  will  set  ye  a  hard  stint  in  whale- 
killin',  eh?" 

"  I've  heard  he's  experienced,  and  shall  get  him  to 
teach  me  a  thing  or  two.  Shall  we  get  a  breeze,  think 
you,  pilot  ? " 

"  Yis,  yis.  A  capful  on't  to  start  with,  an'  all  you'll 
want  'fore  ye  pass  the  Sow  an'  Pigs." 

"  What  sign  do  you  see  of  a  strong  wind  in  this  flat 
calm  ?  " 

"  Suthin'  in  the  air,  that  rumples  me  feathers  ar  bit." 
And  the  old  pilot  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  chuckled 
to  himself,  casting  a  sly  leer  upon  the  mate  with  his  lar 
board  eye  as  he  continued :  "  The  sun  isn't  so  clear  as  he 
wuz.  An  inwisible  haze  shaders  his  picter.  Yonder  in 
the  nor'west  the  blue  sky  is  slowly  changin'  to  gray. 
Signs  'nough  everywhere,  an'  thet's  the  place  we'll  git  it 
frum." 

"  You're  a  great  deal  wiser  than  I  am,  pilot."  At 
which  frank  compliment  the  old  seaman  looked  pleased, 
and  kindly  sought  to  modify  the  show  of  wisdom. 

"  A  good  deal  older,  you  mean.  Old  'nough  to  forget 
'bout  the  frivilous  things  o'  life,  gals  an'  sich  like,  an'  to 
larn  the  'portance  o'  wind  an'  weather.  Two  things  what 
carries  me  bread  an'  butter  wid  um.  'Twill  come  to  you, 


Captain* s  Coming.  39 

young  man,  some  day,  when  ye  put  by  all  the  torn-foolery 
uv  life." 

"  Aren't  you  a  married  man,  Captain  Aiken  ?  " 

"  Married !  What,  me  moored  head  an'  starn  to  a 
female  critter?  Did  ye  iver  know  ar  real  weather-wise 
married  pilot  ? " 

"  I  hadn't  thought  about  that.  But  there  comes  Captain 
Talbert's  boat,  just  shooting  out  from  the  wharf.  The 
ensign  begins  to  feel  the  breeze  at  the  peak." 

The  grizzled  old  sea-dog  slid  nimbly  down  from  the 
monkey-rail,  tossed  overboard  the  ashes  from  his  short 
black  pipe,  as  he  roused  himself  for  the  occasion.  Turn 
ing  to  the  mate,  the  pilot  ordered  him  to  send  men  aloft 
ready  to  take  off  the  yard-arm  gaskets  from  the  sails,  and 
gave  this  further  order  :  — 

"  Let  some  light  hands  stay  at  the  bunts  o'  the  taup- 
s'ils,  ready  to  let  fall  the  gaskets  at  the  given  word." 

"All  right,  pilot."  Tom  Crawford  was  sent  up  at  the 
fore  with  some  light  hands  with  orders  to  stay  in  the  fore- 
top  and  teach  the  youngsters  the  proper  thing  to  do. 
Buntline,  with  another  lot  of  boys,  was  sent  up  at  the 
main,  to  look  after  that  duty  in  the  same  way.  Mr. 
Bailey,  the  venerable  third  mate,  was  given  charge  of  the 
mizzenmast,  its  sails  and  rigging. 

It  was  ten  o'clock  when  this  light  breeze  came  flurrying 
down  the  river,  at  the  first  complete  turn  of  the  tide  far 
away  upstream. 

As  Captain  Talbert's  boat  pulled  briskly  out  from  the 
wharf,  the  clear  sweet  chimes  of  the  church  bells  in  the 
two  riverside  towns  locked  hands  prayerfully  over  the  bay, 
in  solemn  benediction  over  the  new  bridal  of  ship  and  sea. 


4O  The  Flcctwing. 

As  the  captain's  boat  came  near  the  ship,  bringing  not 
only  his  family  and  a  lady  passenger,  but  also  some  of  the 
owners,  and  the  second  mate,  the  pilot  gave  his  orders  to 
man  the  windlass  and  hoist  the  topsail  yards,  preparatory 
to  making  sail. 

Raymond  mounted  the  bow,  took  his  place  on  the 
knightheads,  and  pealed  forth  his  orders  over  the  ship 
like  the  blast  of  a  tempest.  In  an  instant  the  deck  and 
rigging  were  alive  with  bustling  men.  The  shrill  calls  of 
the  seaman  were  heard  alow  and  aloft.  The  merry  songs 
at  the  windlass  rivalled  the  cheery  hoisting  cries  of  the 
men  swaying  up  the  topsail  yards  ready  for  making  sail. 

Getting  under  way  is  a  noisy  evolution  on  shipboard ; 
and  making  sail,  a  very  bedlam  of  confusion  to  a  lands 
man.  While  the  real  seamen  grapple  the  right  ropes,  fast 
as  the  orders  can  be  given,  the  green  hands  are  so  stunned 
with  the  noise,  and  bewildered  by  the  rapid  orders,  that 
their  best  efforts  to  be  useful  are  a  succession  of  blun 
ders.  The  commands  at  such  times  must  be  given  sev 
eral  tones  higher  than  the  songs  of  the  seamen,  the  rattle 
of  chains,  and  the  hoarse  clank  of  the  windlass-pawls. 

But  to  a  sailor's  ear,  the  multitudinous  din  is  like  the 
base  peals  of  an  organ,  heard  above  a  measured  chorus  of 
voices. 

To  see  our  sailor-lover  of  the  night  before  thus  active 
at  his  post  was  to  behold  a  marvellous  transformation  of 
the  man.  Raymond  was  every  inch  a  sailor,  and  his  soul 
was  in  his  work.  Alert  and  alive  with  conflicting  im 
pulses,  a  dozen  orders  were  on  his  tongue  in  a  minute, 
while  his  voice  rang  out  over  the  deck  like  a  tornado,  as 
he  hastened  the  crew  to  their  various  labors. 


^Taking  Sail.  41 

The  observing  eye  of  the  young  mate  was  every 
where, —  now  looking  down  over  the  bow  at  the  incoming 
cable,  then  flinging  impetuous  glances  aloft  where  the 
brand-new  sailors  were  seen  clumsily  taking  off  the  yard- 
arm  gaskets  from  topsails  and  topgallantsails,  prompting 
the  windlass  gang  to  keep  up  their  merry  "flip-flop"  mo 
tion,  and  urging  the  other  men  to  range  the  chain  evenly 
along  the  deck ;  now  sending  an  able  seaman  to  the  helm, 
and  a  leadsman  into  the  chains,  to  be  beforehand  with  the 
pilot,  as  he  saw  that  the  cable  was  nearly  hove  short. 

When  the  slack  cable  was  fairly  hove  in,  and  the  anchor 
hung  "  apeak,"  Raymond  promptly  lifted  his  hand  to  the 
men  for  the  windlass-brakes  to,  "Vast  heaving!"  —  and 
notified  the  pilot:  — 

"  We're  hove  short,  pilot !  "    To  which  was  replied  :  — 

"  All  right.  Send  a  good  hand  to  the  wheel,  a  leads 
man  in  the  chains,  and  make  sail !  " 

,  "  Ay,  ay,  sir  !    Aloft  there  !    Let  fall  your  bunts.    Away 
all  hands  to  stations  !     Stand  by  to  make  sail !  " 

These  rapid  orders  sent  every  hand  to  duty,  the  be 
wildered  green  ones  following  in  the  wake  of  the  seamen, 
like  the  bobs  to  a  kite,  standing  ready  to  bowse  home 
the  topsail  sheets,  and  hoist  away  on  the  halyards.  Down 
tumbled  the  broad  canvas  from  the  topsail  yard,  followed 
by  the  piping,  boyish  cry  :  — 

"  Sheef  home  !  Foretopsail  —  Maintopsail  —  Mizzen- 
topsail." 

Nimble  as  monkeys  the  lively  bunt-boys  flitted  about 
from  block  to  block,  overhauling  clewlines,  buntlines,  and 
reef-tackles,  until  the  huge  sails  were  fairly  set.  Mount 
ing  in  quick  succession  from  topsail  to  topgallant  yards, 


42  TJic  Flcctwing. 

and  on  to  the  royals ;  like  magic  the  flopping  clews  ran 
out  to  the  yard-arms,  and  the  yards  swayed  steadily  up  to 
the  cross-trees.  A  cloud  of  span-new  canvas  soon  adorned 
the  beautiful  craft,  and  she  tugged  away  at  her  cable 
chain  as  the  rising  breeze  pressed  her  sails  aback,  as  if 
impatient  to  be  gone.  Very  pretty  \vas  the  shapely 
shadow  which  the  ship  cast  upon  the  mirrored  .water,  as 
she  daintily  curveted  to  the  one  side  and  the  other,  to  the 
full  scope  of  her  chain ;  like  a  newly  rigged  maiden  be 
fore  her  pier,  bewitched  by  her  own  reflected  charms. 

When  sail  was  made,  Raymond's  thoughts  reverted  to 
the  girl  he  loved.  Snatching  a  moment's  reprieve  from 
duty,  he  glanced  at  the  far-away  cupola  on  the  hillside, 
and  saw  Mary's  white  signal  just  flung  to  the  breeze. 
Bringing  his  spyglass  to  bear  upon  the  spot,  he  saw 
Mary's  loved  figure  dimly  outlined  on  the  housetop. 

With  bounding  heart  he  drew  out  his  red  handkerchief, 
and  fluttered  it  in  answer.  Only  a  brief  moment  could 
he  give  to  the  loved  girl,  for  the  calls  of  duty  came  thick 
and  fast,  too  imperative  to  be  neglected  even  for  the  dalli 
ance  of  love. 

Disturbed  by  the  flood  of  morning  sunshine  streaming 
through  her  chamber  window,  Mary  woke  rosy,  and  re 
freshed  by  slumber,  recuperated  after  her  long  love  carni 
val  of  the  night,  where  only  the  sympathetic  moon  and 
spying  star-beams  had  witnessed  her  betrothal  with  her 
sailor-lover. 

An  oft-recurring  flush  suffused  her  face  at  the  thought 
of  what  had  transpired.  With  hasty  hand  she  robed  her 
self,  and  ran  with  girlish  avidity  to  the  housetop,  where, 
from  the  observatory,  she  beheld  the  Fleetwing  still  lying 


The  Love-lorn  Girl.  43 

at  anchor.  She  was  gifted  with  sailor  instinct  sufficient  to 
determine  that  there  was  too  little  wind  for  sailing,  con 
firmed  in  her  conclusion  by  seeing  the  ship  still  trending 
up  the  river,  held  in  the  strong  clutches  of  the  flood-tide. 

Going  below  to  breakfast,  Mary  took  occasion  to  whis 
per  one  little  sentence  in  her  mother's  ear,  unfolding  all 
her  precious  tale  of  love.  The  unfeeling  smirk  which 
dawned  on  the  maternal  face  implied  that  the  parent- 
heart  was  not  of  the  sentimental  order. 

Again  Mary  returned  alone  to  the  cupola  in  time  to  see 
a  puff  of  white  smoke  whirling  upward  in  the  morning  air. 
It  was  the  ship's  signal-gun  calling  the  pilot  to  his  duty  on 
the  vessel. 

Seating  herself  in  the  window,  her  heart  beating  wildly, 
Mary  patiently  waited  where  she  could  overlook  the  bay, 
and  observe  every  movement  on  the  ship  which  held  her 
lover.  The  thought  of  their  separation  became  too  cruel, 
too  dreadful  to  contemplate.  Heart-sick  with  dwelling 
upon  the  parting,  and  her  mother's  lack  of  sympathy,  the 
young  girl  fell  upon  her  knees  and  sought  communion 
with  her  Heavenly  Father,  praying  that  her  new-found 
idol  might  be  watched  over  in  his  perils,  and  restored 
once  more  to  her  loving,  longing  arms. 

Half  frantic  with  feelings  of  desolation  and  despair,  she 
reached  out  her  arms  toward  the  ship,  mentally  deter 
mined  to  snatch  back  her  lover  from  this  cruel  wrong, 
piteously  exclaiming  :  — 

"Comeback!  Come  back  to  me,  my  darling!  —  you 
who  have  taught  me  the  precious  enchantment  of  love, 
imparting  to  me  a  sweet,  fresh  legacy  of  life,  only  to 
snatch  it  from  my  grasp  as  soon  as  found." 


44  7/^  Fleetwing. 

Ah,  what  sources  of  crucifixion  are  these  heart-breaking 
scenes  to  the  loving.  It  is  well  a  young  maiden's  heart  is 
so  elastic  beneath  such  crucial  tortures  as  these,  else  it 
would  oftener  be  riven  by  the  terrible  retrocession  of  the 
life-current  in  such  hours. 

If  the  rapture  of  the  strong  brave  youth  was  so  bewil 
dering  that,  in  spite  of  his  resolute  character,  he  found  it 
hard  not  to  return  to  his  loved  one,  how  must  it  have  been 
with  this  timorous,  sensuous  girl,  who  for  the  first  time  in 
life  had  pressed  the  lips  of  man  with  love,  until  now  a 
stranger  to  the  newly  awakened  emotions  of  womanhood  ? 
Mary  had  only  been  permitted  to  taste  from  the  blissful 
cup  before  it  was  dashed  from  her  lips  forever. 

Watching  with  her  heart  in  her  eyes,  Mary  saw  the  cap 
tain  and  his  family  board  the  ship,  saw  the  crew  heave 
the  anchor  short,  let  fall  their  sails,  till  a  vast  confusion 
of  canvas  hung  from  the  yards.  When  one  by  one  all  the 
sails  were  set  upon  the  ship,  then,  with  trembling  hands, 
she  flung  forth  her  white  scarf  to  the  breeze,  till  it  flut 
tered  down  the  bay,  pointing  over  the  far  seaward  track, 
which  would  soon  bear  her  loved  sailor  from  sight,  leaving 
her  nothing  but  the  dear  memory  of  his  radiant,  royal  love. 

Sadly  she  watched  her  telltale  pennant  flow  in  the  wind, 
bearing  her  last  lo\je  message  to  the  ship.  Spying  with 
her  glass,  she  beheld  a  quick  response  come  from  a  dear 
hand  on  the  Fleetwing's  bow.  One  moment  Raymond's 
red  kerchief  was  held  to  the  wind,  and  'twas  gone.  The 
task  of  duty  called  her  sailor-boy  from  his  love. 

With  streaming  eyes  and  heaving  breast,  Mary  watched 
the  anchor  tripped,  and  saw  the  ship  swing  to  her  course 
with  all  her  white  sails  given  to  the  breeze.  Gay  with 


Loves  Last  Signals.  4$ 

flaunting  colors  waving  from  her  tapering  masts,  and  the 
national  flag  at  the  gaff,  the  ship  quickly  gathered  way ; 
then,  joyous  as  a  bird  let  loose,  went  winding  down  the 
bay. 

With  sobs,  and  tears,  and  piteous,  pleading  prayers, 
Mary  marked  the  lessening  sails  until  one  by  one  they 
sank  over  the  blue  horizon's  rim,  then  with  heart-broken 
cries  she  resigned  her  noble  lover  to  his  long  ocean 
home. 


CHAPTER  V. 

WEIGHING   ANCHOR   AND   LEAVING   PORT. 

\\  7HEN  the  tide  turned,  and  the  time  approached  for 
sailing,  the  parson  again  made  his  appearance  on 
the  wharf  where  Captain  Coffin's  boat  was  moored.  The 
old  whaleman  sat  perched  on  the  crown  of  an  anchor, 
spinning  yarns  to  a  group  of  seafaring  cronies.  He  soon 
discovered  the  reverend  gentleman,  and  reluctantly  cut 
off  his  story,  securing  the  ends  with  a  bowline-in-the- 
bight,  convenient  for  splicing  at  some  future  time.  Shift 
ing  his  enormous  quid  to  port,  the  captain  got  his  rheu 
matic  legs  under-way  and  hobbled  to  the  minister's  side. 

"  Ship  ahoy  !  So  here  ye  am  agin,  parson  ;  prompt  as 
old  Sol  at  the  noon  meridian.  Right  too,  you  are.  Fur 
a  gospil  feller  who  'spects  to  turn  the  key  fur  St.  Peter  in 
his  watch  below,  should  never  be  behind  the  lighter.  Fur 
sometime,  a  sinful  feller  like  me  mought  slip  into  King 
dom  Come  without  yer  vise  on  his  passport." 

"  Perhaps  so.  But  I  saw  the  flood-tide  had  ceased,  and 
I  wished  to  be  on  hand." 

"  Sartin  you  did.  So  you've  got  yer  eye  peeled  fur 
wind  an'  water,  ez  well  ez  the  heavenly  way.  Boat  ahoy  ! 
Bring  her  in  'ere,  Billy,"  yelled  the  captain  to  his  son, 
who  was  in  a  small  sloop-rigged  boat  within  hail  from 

46 


The  Windlass  Song.  47 

the  wharf.  The  young  sailor  had  previously  hoisted  the 
the  mainsail,  and  had  just  run  up  the  jib,  and  was  belaying 
the  halyards.  Casting  off  the  fast  from  the  buoy,  the  lad 
sprang  aft  to  the  tiller  and  put  it  aport.  Easing  off  his 
sheet,  the  boy  brought  the  boat  to  the  wharf,  touching  the 
wharf-logs  too  gently  to  have  broken  an  egg. 

"  Bully  fur  you,  me  son.  You're  a  chip  o'  the  old 
block,  an'  ye  was  born  in  a  Cape  Horn  snorter.  I  calker- 
late  touch  an'  go  ez  a  good  sailor.  Now  jump  'board, 
parson.  I'll  set  ye  the  example,  old  coon." 

Suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  the  wiry  old  skipper 
leaped  amidships,  lightly  as  a  dancing-master  ;  an  example 
his  companion,  though  a  much  younger  man,  could  not 
follow. 

"  Bear  away  fur  the  Fleetwing,  Billy.  Forelay  for  the 
ebb,  which  quickens  with  the  flow  uv  the  river." 

"All  right,  daddy.  The  ship's  hove  short,  father,  an' 
'they're  loosing  her  sails." 

"  Ah,  yis.  Down  drop  'er  taups'ils.  Every  bunt  gasket 
let  go  at  once.  Charlie  Raymond  has  got  his  new  team 
into  workin'  order.  A  man  o'  war  couldn't  dun  better. 
You  see,  parson,  the  mate  o'  that  craft  is  one  o'  Cap'n 
Dan's  own  bringin'  up.  All  steel  an'  whalebone  hisself, 
he  means  to  train  every  he  critter  aboard  to  navigate  like 
clock-work." 

"  They  seem  quite  cheerful  about  their  work." 

"  Trew  as  Moses  !  Some  ships  sail  to  the  tune  of  Old 
Hundred,  yer  know.  Jist  yer  listen  'board  o'  there,  parson, 
an'  obsarve  the  difference." 

Suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  the  captain  put  his  hand 
to  his  ear  and  hearkened  to  the  cheery  song  of  — 


48  The  Fleet-using. 

High  randy  dandy,  O-o-o-h ! 

A  dandy  mate  and  a  bully  crew, 
High  randy  dandy,  Oh, 

Our  jolly  captain  and  wife  are  'n  view, 
High  randy  dandy ; 

And  look  —  me  hearties — a  baby  too, 
High  randy  dandy,  O-o-o-h ! 

"  I  hear  them,  captain.  They  seem  to  improvise  the 
song  as  they  go  along." 

"  Yis,  yis.  Thet's  the  sort  o'  bull-beef  to  sail  ar  ship 
with.  The  mate  made  choice  uv  every  scalawag  in  the 
forc'sle.  They're  made  uv  the  stuff  what  never  says 
die." 

"  How  neatly  the  sails  are  set." 

"  Sartinly  !  Ef  you've  an  eye  fur  the  be'utiful,  look  at 
them  three  taups'ils,  set  taut  ez  fiddlestrings — lower 
yards  sprung  up  at  the  yard-arms  ;  taups'il  yards  bent 
like  a  bow  at  the  tie.  There  go  the  to'gans'ils,  sheets  anf 
halyards  all  running  home  at  once.  Up  go  the  r'yals, 
taut  ez  ar  ribbon.  Pretty  kites  to  tip  off  with.  Jist  as  a 
woman  tips  off  her  headgear  with  a  last  bow,  to  show  'er 
breedin'." 

"  She  is  truly  a  very  beautiful  vessel." 

"Twig  the  step  o'  her  masts.  For'mast  set  plumb  ez  a 
fallin'  arrow.  So.  straight  —  ez  the  nigger  says — that  it 
leans  a  trifle  t'other  way.  Round  to  a  bit,  Billy,  an'  let 
parson  make  a  sarmon  out  uv  this  fur  the  heathen  fellers 
in  his  parish.  Helm  aport,  an'  weather-haul  yer  jib 
sheet,  an'  let  'er  drift.  What  a  pictur  she  am !  A  neat 
piece  of  architectur !  " 

"Why  is  the  foremast  stepped  erect,  while  the  other 
masts  are  so  raking  ?  " 


Cap' u  Toms  Talk.  49 

'•  'Cause  the  yards  at  fore  an'  main  are  so  square  —  so 
long  —  that  they  need  to  be  thrown  apart.  Otherwise  the 
sails  at  the  main  would  overlap  the  for'ard  sails  an'  cause  a 
back  draft,  keepin'  the  weather  leech  o'  the  main-taups'il 
flutterin'  when  on  a  wind." 

"Ah,  I  see"- 

"  Hold  yer  wind,  parson,  I've  got  the  pulpit  jist  no\v, 
an'  I  wanter  give  yer  nuther  reason.  If  the  for'mast  wus 
not  set  plumb  in  a  sharp  ship,  with  a  deep  keel  aft,  she 
couldn't  show  for'ard  sail  'nough  to  prevent  a  weather  helm. 
An'  a  weather  helm  makes  dead  water,  an'  that  would 
slow  up  her  speed." 

"  I  understand  it  quite  well,  for  I  am  familiar  with 
ships." 

"  Sartin'  you  duz,  parson.  Fur  a  minister  knows  a 
smatterin'  uv  everything  under  the  sun.  Why,  a  feller  uv 
your  kidney  can  tell  the  best  way  to  kedge  inter  heaven 
when  everytln'ng's  gone  by  the  board  an'  there's  a  'spic- 
ious  smell  o'  brimstone  under  yer  lee." 

"  Perhaps  so,  captain.  But  isn't  that  Captain  Talbert 
going  up  the  side  ?  " 

"  Yes,  it  am,  an'  we'll  board  her  too.  Bear  away,  Billy. 
Skute  'longside  han'sumly." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir !  They're  goin'  to  man  the  windlass  'gin, 
father." 

"  Vis,  they'll  break  out  their  last  foothold  from  the 
bottom  mud.  Steady,  lad.  Take  her  to  the  gangway 
gingerly.  Here  we  is.  Climb  'board,  parson,  an'  no  bap- 
tisin'  tricks,  mind  yer,  if  yer  am  ar  Hardshell." 

The  two  cronies  climbed  the  manropes  and  found  their 
way  on  board,  Going  aft,  they  received,  a,  warm  welcome 


50  The  Flee  living. 

from  Captain  Talbert,  who  had  gathered  his  family  and 
visitors  by  the  taffrail ;  the  whole  sweep  of  the  round  stern 
being  sumptuously  provided  with  a  cushioned  seat.  Here 
they  could  witness  the  doings  about  the  ship,  the  pilot 
having  charge  of  the  vessel  while  on  board.  Word  was 
now  passed  forward  to  :  — 

"  Trip  your  anchor,  an'  stand  by  the  jib  halyards." 

A  wild  shout  of  song  burst  forth  from  the  windlass 
gang  when  this  order  was  given.  The  iron  pawls  clanged 
noisily  as  the  windlass-brakes  went  flip-flop  in  the  hands 
of  twenty  men. 

When  fairly  hove  short  —  hanging  just  "stay  a-peak  " 
—  the  anchor  clung  like  a  last  hand-grip  to  the  bottom  of 
the  dear  home  land.  But  at  length,  after  a  tug  of  desper 
ation,  the  great  iron  fluke  let  go  its  hold  of  the  sticky  blue 
clay,  and  the  anchor  came  dangling  up  to  the  bow,  ready 
for  the  cathook.  The  tenacious  river-mud  was  washed 
from  the  crown  and  the  stock  of  the  great  bower,  and  it 
was  then  roused  up  to  the  cathead  and  secured. 

The  jibs  were  run  glibly  up,  to  cast  the  ship  to  port, 
and  the  head  yards  backed  by  the  starboard  braces. 
Making  a  graceful  stern-board  towards  the  Fairhaven 
shore,  the  ship  hung  irresolute  a  moment  in  the  strong 
grip  of  the  wind  and  tide  —  her  sails  fluttering  their 
tautened  leeches  in  the  wind's  eye  —  then  the  ship  payed 
off,  filled  her  sails  and  shot  ahead,  swinging  gradually 
to  her  course  down  the  bay. 

A  tinkling  ripple  of  foam  at  her  bow,  a  blended  murmur 
of  gladness  from  ropes  and  spars  and  sails,  showed  what 
delight  an  inanimate  thing  may  express  when  let  loose, 
like  a  bird,  to  the  breeze, 


The  Wizened  Pilot.  51 

A  shout  went  over  the  bay  from  lumpers,  riggers,  and 
sailors  along  the  wharves,  joined  by  the  town  folks, 
making  an  uproar  akin  to  the  bellowing  of  a  tempest. 
Housetops  and  steeples  and  flagstaff's  were  made  glad 
with  bunting  and  flaming  colors,  a  pleasant  greeting  to 
the  beautiful  ship  as  she  sped  away. 

The  weather-beaten  old  pilot  swaggered  about  the 
quarter-deck,  grinning  from  ear  to  ear,  until  the  tan-colored 
face  of  the  wrinkled  little  man  resembled  anything  but  a 
human  visage.  He  rubbed  his  rough-skinned  hands  with 
glee  as  he  perked  his  diminutive  head  aloft,  or  peered  over 
the  side  and  watched  the  quickening  paces  of  the  ship. 

Standing  with  his  spindling  bow-legs  apart  like  a  saw- 
horse,  the  shrivelled  little  man  swayed  to  the  pitch  and 
roll  of  the  ship  as  she  met  the  bay-swell  heaving  in, 
poising  himself  in  graceful  accord  with  every  motion  of 
the  beautiful  craft.  Cocking  his  small  gray  eyes  aloft 
from  sail  to  sail,  he  chuckled  with  delight  as  he  saw  the 
tapering  masts  bend  and  buckle  to  the  fast  freshening 
breeze. 

Captain  Aiken  had  been  a  shipmaster  a  score  of  years 
before  he  became  a  pilot,  and  knew  the  speed  and  paces 
of  every  kind  of  seagoing  craft ;  therefore  his  judgment 
was  of  the  best.  This  self-assured  old  skeleton  clucked 
and  cooed  to  himself  like  a  mother-hen  calling  her  chicks 
for  a  worm  ;  but  as  yet  he  would  not  exchange  a  word 
with  any  one  about  the  amazing  qualities  of  the  ship. 
Yet  all  were  curious  to  learn  the  pilot's  opinion,  deeming 
him  the  best  connoisseur  of  the  port. 

The  wind  was  well  aft  when  the  Fleetwing  ran  down 
past  Palmer's  Island.  The  great  ensign  fluttered  its  stars 


52  The  Fleetwing. 

and  stripes  over  the  man  at  the  wheel  —  venerable  old 
Tom  Crawford — who  reverently  stood  bare-headed  at  his 
work,  indulging  in  some  sailor  superstition  about :  "  the 
first  man  ;  \h&  first  time ;  on  the  first  voyage  of  a  ship." 
The  beautiful  new  flag  had  quickly  learned  its  maritime 
duties  with  the  coming  breeze,  and  now  waved  a  national 
benediction  over  the  new  enterprise  and  all  who  had 
embarked  therein. 

The  anchor  had  been  catted  and  brought  to  the  bo\v. 
The  ring-stopper  was  secured  to  the  cathead,  and  the 
chain  shank-painter  grappled  the  iron  crown  fast  to  the 
forerail.  The  iron  toe  of  the  great  anchor  was  caught  in 
a  well  greased  shoe,  ready  for  dropping  again  should  any 
need  occur. 

The  river-mud  was  cleanly  washed  from  the  cable,  and 
the  huge  chain  was  neatly  ranged  along  the  deck  beaft  the 
foremast.  The  rigging  was  everywhere  coiled  clear  for 
running,  and  the  whole  deck  made  snug,  fore  and  aft,  for 
ship  work. 

A  leadsman  was  stationed  in  the  main  chains,  who  was 
just  then  sonorously  calling:  "Quarter  less  five!"  as  he 
drew  up  his  lead  to  the  song  of  his  craft.  Looping  his 
leadline  carefully,  he  prepared  for  another  cast,  ready  to 
again  give  the  pilot  the  depth  and  nature  of  the  bottom  in 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye ;  for  old  Ben  Buntline  had 
been  a  leadsman  forty  years  and  a  day. 

Everywhere  about  the  decks  men  were  placed  at  the 
braces,  ready  to  cant  the  yards  as  the  ship  rounded 
Palmer's  Island  Light,  and  shaped  her  course  past  Black 
Rock,  over  toward  the  squatty  Dumpling  Light,  and  hr.lf 
way  down  the  bay. 


Racing  ivith  the  Yachts.  53 

The  wind  freshened  and  hauled  to  the  westward  as  the 
ship  passed  the  fort  at  Clark's  Point,  and  the  spoondrift 
began  to  fly  from  her  bows.  A  luminous  "  Milky  Way  " 
flushed  the  green  waters  far  astern,  where  the  fleet  thing 
had  cleaved  her  maiden  track  across  the  harbor. 

Looking  between  Palmer's  Island  and  the  Bedford 
shore,  a  fleet  of  forty  yachts  was  seen  coming,  like  a 
flock  of  white-winged  birds,  down  the  bay.  All  were 
eager  to  test  their  speed  with  the  racehorse  paces  of  the 
ship.  Captain  Talbert's  name  was  upon  every  lip,  for, 
besides  being  one  of  the  most  successful  whalemen,  he  had 
modelled  the  swiftest  sailer  from  the  port,  if  not  in  the 
country.  The  yachtsmen  were  delighted  with  her  proud 
and  prancing  motion  as  the  wind  increased  and  she  met 
the  long  undulation  heaving  in  from  the  sea.  Their 
attempt  to  keep  pace  with  the  ship  was  a  source  of  long 
remembered  fun.  They  were  as  evenly  matched  as  the 
tortoise  and  the  hare. 

The  bay-shore  was  flitting  past,  changeable  as  a  pano 
rama.  Rocks,  farm-houses,  and  fruit-laden  orchards  swept 
astern,  as  if  bent  upon  a  jubilee  on  this  gala  day.  The 
sombre  autumn  foliage  was  just  beginning  to  glow  with 
tints  of  color  wherever  clusters  of  maples  or  birches  grew 
amidst  the  fading  autumnal  green.  The  coastwise  deni 
zens  were  gathered  in  groups  on  cliffs  and  capes,  watch 
ing  the  famous  clipper  sweep  past  like  a  lordly  swan 
hastening  to  its  ocean  home. 

The  gulls  screamed  defiantly  as  they  raced  along  with 
the  ship,  in  noisy  emulation  of  her  speed.  Even  the  sun 
shine  and  the  shadows  chased  her  playfully  over  the 
water,  and  the  fleecy  little  clouds  above  her  joined  in  the 


54  The  Fleetwing. 

race.  A  school  of  brown-backed  porpoises  came  feeding 
leisurely  up  the  bay ;  meeting  the  ship,  they  wheeled  in 
wild  gambol,  and  raced  back  by  her  side  until  the  ship 
hove  to  at  the  Lightship  to  discharge  the  pilot. 

As  the  wind  breezed  up,  the  face  of  the  pilot  began  to 
assume  a  stern  and  anxious  look,  until  his  mahogany- 
colored  visage  glowed  like  a  lobster.  He  was  watching 
the  royals  with  the  utmost  care.  The  eye  of  the  world 
was  upon  him,  and  his  doing,  or  he  would  have  furled  the 
dainty  things  at  once.  The  ship  proved  stiff  and  staunch, 
yielding  so  little  to  the  strong  wind  that  she  would  the 
more  easily  snap  off  her  slender  "whip-sticks"  aloft;  an 
event  too  humiliating  to  think  of,  a  dreadful  alternative 
for  an  old  water-dog  to  contemplate,  one  who  grows  timid 
and  fussy  as  he  ages. 

The  experience  of  the  pilot  taught  him  many  cunning 
tricks  of  caution.  The  best  seaman  in  the  ship  was  kept 
at  the  wheel,  and  a  glance  from  the  pilot  was  sufficient 
cue  for  Tom  Crawford  to  ease  her  a  spoke  or  two  in  the 
sudden  puffs  from  the  land.  A  cool  hand  was  also  put  to 
the  royal  halyards,  ready  to  let  run  if  the  wind  came  in 
squalls. 

It  is  indeed  dainty  work  testing  the  sailing  qualities  of 
a  new  ship.  She  is  as  freaky  and  deceptive  as  a  coquette. 
One  must  beware  of  too  great  familiarity  with  either  a 
ship  or  a  woman  on  first  acquaintance.  Handle  them 
both  gingerly,  with  cool  eye  and  a  steady  hand.  Give  a 
ship  plenty  of  time  to  show  her  mettle,  and,  like  a  dainty 
woman,  she  will  not  fail  to  repay  you  for  your  cunning 
and  your  caution. 

The  Fleetwing  quivered  in  every  fibre  during  the  strong 


S/ie  am  a  Bcnty.  55 

puffs,  trembling  from  truck  to  keel  with  inward  de 
light  as  she  clove  the  pea-green  waters.  When  she 
approached  Dumpling  Light,  the  ship  was  spinning  past 
the  headlands  ten  knots  an  hour,  with  but  little  show 
of  suds  where  she  broke  her  water  forward,  or  left  it 
astern. 

The  pilot  had  cleverly  got  her  gauge,  and  was  now 
becoming  too  jubilant  to  longer  keep  his  joy  to  himself. 
While  still  conning  the  ship  with  care,  he  sauntered  aft 
toward  the  gentlemen  at  the  stern,  when  Captain  Talbert 
hailed  him  :  — 

"  Well,  pilot,  what  do  you  think  of  my  new  ship  ? " 

"Ah,  Cap'n  Dan,  she  am*  a  be'tity!  Never  trod  the 
deck  of  her  equal  before.  I  know'd  she'd  be  a  whole 
team  in  heavy  weather  ;  but  I'm  s'prised  to  see  her  race 
so  in  a  skys'il  breeze." 

"  That's  'bout  as  I  expressed  it,  Captain  Ben.  I  mod 
elled  her  for  rough  sledding ;  but  her  buoyancy  and  speed 
under  these  light  kites  shows  we've  given  her  finer  lines 
than  we  thought." 

"  Yis,  yis,  that's  the  how  be  it.  Twig  the  saucy  jade 
quicken  her  footsteps  at  every  word  o'  praise  —  like  ez  a 
jocky  pats  the  neck  o'  his  racer,  to  make  'im  buckle  to 
the  course." 

"  Here  we  come  to  the  Dumpling  Light !  Sheer  in 
close  'longside,  Captain  Aiken ;  wife  wants  to  shake 
hands  with  her  cousin,  the  lightkeeper." 

"  Not  quite  so  neighborly  ez  thet  with  this  ere  dainty 
craft.  I'll  skin  near  'nough  fur  Mrs.  Talbert  to  toss  a 
bit  o'  hardtack  to  the  leddy  keeper,  who's  waddlin'  down 
the  rock  to  greet  us." 


56  The  Plcetwing. 

"  Steward,  lend  us  a  tray  of  pilot-bread  to  feed  the 
starving  people  on  Dumpling  !  " 

The  cabin  boy  came  just  in  time  for  the  lady  to  seize  a 
biscuit,  and  toss  it  into  the  apron  of  the  keeper's  wife,  as 
the  women  gaily  exchanged  salutations. 

As  the  wind  began  to  cant  to  the  south  of  west,  the 
ship  was  headed  over  toward  Hen  and  Chickens,  to 
secure  sufficient  weather-gauge  to  clear  the  Cuttyhunk 
lightship.  The  yards  were  braced  sharp  up,  and  the 
ship  was  put  on  a  taut  bowline ;  the  jib-sheets  were 
flattened  aft,  and  the  spanker  set,  and,  to  the  surprise 
of  all,  the  ship  was  found  to  carry  very  little  weather- 
helm. 

When  they  drew  out  from  under  the  land,  heading 
over  toward  the  Sow  and  Pigs,  the  wind  freshened  more 
than  ever.  This  induced  the  ship  to  show  her  mettle, 
and  require  a  taut  rein  and  a  steady  hand.  It  needed  a 
few  more  weather-spokes  of  the  wheel  to  prevent  her 
luffing  in  the  squalls  ;  and  she  seemed  just  a  little  in 
clined  to  take  the  bit  in  her  teeth  —  as  when  a  restive 
courser  is  held  too  rudely  in  check. 

The  log-reel  and  sand-glass  were  now  got  ready  to 
ascertain  her  rate  of  sailing.  The  "  chip  "  was  thrown, 
and  the  line  run  out  twelve  knots.  It  was  not  thought 
possible;  it  was  deemed  a  mistake  in  casting  the  log. 
All  was  made  ready  again,  and  with  every  precaution  the 
pilot  and  second  mate  made  a  careful  cast,  and  found,  to 
the  amazement  of  all,  that  the  actual  speed  was  thirteen 
and  a  half  knots,  owing  to  a  trifling  increase  of  the  wind. 
The  pilot's  enthusiasm  knew  no  bounds. 

"  By  George  1   Captain  Talbert,   I  wanter  ship   'board 


Off  Sow  and  Pigs.  57 

this  craft  in  any  capacity,  from  swab-boy  to  cook's  mate  ; 
an'  I  knows  Cap'n  Coffin  will  do  likewise  — eh? " 

"Yis,  indeed,  Uncle  Ben.  I'll  volunteer  to  tend  tack 
or  sheet  fur  me  daily  bread.  An'  here's  the  parson.  He 
shall  live  in  the  maintop,  an'  take  toll  at  the  cat-harpens, 
ruther  than  not  go." 

It  was  not  so  much  the  speed  of  thirteen  knots  which 
amazed  these  ancient  mariners  as  the  unassuming  way  in 
which  she  did  her  work.  The  ship  had  careened  about 
ten  degrees,  and  there  remained  fixed,  showing  her  bear 
ings  to  be  low  down,  and  that  she  was  stiff  as  a  tower. 
A  graceful  burwave  was  spurting  out  from  her  cutwater,  as 
from  the  prow  of  a  swift  steamer  ;  while  her  wake  was  a 
laughing  glitter  of  sunbeams  for  more  than  a  mile  astern. 

The  ship  was  now  abreast  of  the  Sow  and  Pigs 
lightship.  Vineyard  Sound  lay  to  the  east,  broad  open 
to  view.  The  pilot  hailed  the  mate,  and  made  ready  to 
depart. 

"  Mr.  Raymond,  drop  the  r'yals  on  the  caps !  Brail  up 
the  coursers,  an'  lay  headyards  aback  !  Take  in  fly-jib, 
an'  flow  the  jib-sheets."  Turning  to  Captain  Talbert,  he 
said :  — 

"Way's  all  clear  now,  cap'n,  and  I  must  leave  yer. 
You've  got  a  perfect  vessel  under  yer,  an'  I'll  so  report  to 
the  builders ! "  And  tears  stood  in  the  old  man's  eyes  ; 
for  it  was  a  case  of  love  at  first  sight. 

O 

"  So  do,  Captain  Aiken.  Hilman  will  be  glad  to  get 
your  report.  Now,  pilot,  and  you,  gentlemen,  step  into 
the  cabin,  and  indulge  in  a  parting  glass  of  champagne." 

When  all  were  gathered  about  the  cabin  table,  Cap 
tain  Talbert  requested  Parson  B to  ask  a  blessing 


5  8  The  Plcetwing. 

upon  his  splendid  new  enterprise.  The  parson  gladly 
acquiesced :  — 

"  Certainly,  sir.     Are  we  ready  ?  " 

"  Wait  a  moment.  Boy,  ask  the  mate  to  step  into  the 
cabin.  Most  of  you  are  aware  that  it's  not  etiquette  to 
call  in  the  other  officers.  It  is  all  a  farce  calling  the 
mate,  who  never  drinks  anything  but  baby  drinks.  Here 
he  comes,  gentlemen.  This  is  my  first  officer,  Mr.  Ray 
mond.  We're  going  to  take  a  parting  glass  ;  can  you 
think  of  something  to  have  with  us  ?  " 

"I'll  see,  sir.     Steward!" 

"  Sir?"  • 

"  Have  you  lemonade  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir ;  just  made  some  for  the  ladies." 

"  Pour  me  a  glass." 

"  And  me  another,"  said  the  parson,  stepping  briskly 
forward,  and  ranging  himself  on  the  side  of  temperance. 
"  I'll  keep  you  company,  my  young  friend." 

All  things  being  ready,  Parson  B offered  up  a 

heartfelt  prayer  for  the  ship  and  all  on  board.  Then 
came  the  sparkling  beverage  —  the  sailors'  benediction 
after  prayer  —  for  all  but  the  minister  and  the  mate;  for 
the  noble  example  of  the  latter  had  deterred  the  reverend 
brother  from  the  tempting  glass  he  had  so  willingly  an 
ticipated. 

One  by  one,  in  turn,  all  grasped  the  hand  of  the  cap 
tain  and  his  young  mate,  and  with  cheery  words  tossed 
off  their  wine.  Bidding  adieu  to  Mrs.  Talbert  and  the 
lady  passenger,  who  had  remained  on  deck,  the  shore- 
party  sprang  on  board  the  pilot-boat,  which  was  ranged 
alongside  to  windward  to  receive  them. 


At  Sea.  59 

When  the  visitors  had  embarked,  the  headyards  were 
braced  forward,  and  the  courses  hauled  aboard.  The 
jib-sheets  were  flattened  aft,  the  flying-jib  and  the  three 
royals  hoisted,  and  the  voyage  of  the  Fleetwing  was  fairly 
begun. 

The  ship  was  kept  off  a  little,  all  the  course  would 
allow,  and  run  clear  of  Gay  Head.  The  pilot-boat  made 
all  sail,  endeavoring  to  keep  along  with  the  ship,  a  few 
minutes,  to  observe  her  appearance  from  an  outside  view. 
But  the  ship  was  kept  "  rap-full,"  the  bowlines  slacked 
up,  and  the  upper  yards  checked  in  ;  she  sprang  to  her 
task  like  an  antelope,  and  soon  dropped  the  pilot-boat 
astern.  With  shouts  and  cheers,  and  a  last  farewell  of 
waving  hats  and  hands,  the  defeated  boat  tacked  around, 
and  headed  off  up  the  bay. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  YOUNG  MATE  AND  THE  OLD  MARTINET. 

T^ROM  the  quarter-deck  of  the  Fleetwing  her  people 
eagerly  watched  the  receding  pilot-boat  scudding 
away  up  the  bay,  until  a  visible  touch  of  sadness  crept 
into  every  heart.  This  severed  the  last  link  which  con 
nected  them  with  the  home  land ;  and,  as  their  loneliness 
dawned  upon  them,  one  by  one  the  little  group  looked 
mournfully  into  each  other's  faces  for  the  needed  sym 
pathy. 

As  with  a  sigh  the  mate  turned  to  leave  the  party  and 
attend  to  his  ship  duties,  Captain  Talbert  bade  him  wait 
until  he  called  the  second  mate  for  an  introduction. 

Neither  of  these  brave  spirits  had  seen  the  other  until 
they  met  on  board.  When  they  were  presented,  and 
while  shaking  hands,  the  two  officers  quickly  took  the 
calibre  of  each  other.  They  felt  like  two  powerful  athletes 
who  were  about  to  meet  in  the  arena  and  test  their  skill 
—  their  whale-killing  power.  The  words  of  both  officers 
were  frank  and  fair-spoken,  yet  there  was  an  interchange 
of  sharp,  scrutinizing  glances  passed  between  them  that 
clicked  like  the  meeting  of  two  keen  rapiers  —  a  mental 
clash  of  arms  in  which  there  was  no  love  fostered  on 
either  side. 

60 


Dave  Braybrook.  61 

Braybrook  was  a  large,  square-shouldered  man,  with 
keen  gray  eyes,  small  and  restless,  looking  savagely  out 
from  under  shaggy,  overhanging  brows.  The'  Jewish 
hookedness  of  his  massive  nose  made  it  the  most  charac 
teristic  feature  of  his  face.  Thin-cut  lips,  that  implied 
great  firmness,  yet  having  a  cynical  curl  that  indicated  a 
savage,  brutal  courage. 

The  leathery,  tan-colored  face  of  the  veteran  officer 
vouched  for  his  being  an  old  stager  on  the  sea,  while  his 
sinister  expression  implied  that  the  milk  of  human  kind 
ness  had  not  been  squandered  in  the  make-up  of  the 
man.  There  was  the  bellow  of  an  angry  bull  in  his  voice 
when  giving  orders,  which  was  terrible  to  the  ear  of  a 
timid  seaman.  A  fierce,  ferocious,  defiant  tone,*  which 
had  the  snarl  of  a  mastiff  in  it,  and  jarred  even  upon  the 
ear  of  his  superiors.  This  was,  perhaps,  the  most  ag 
gressive  quality  of  the  man,  for  while  it  served  to  overawe 
the  timid  ones  it  aroused  a  kindred  antagonism  in  the 
courageous  and  self-respecting  part  of  the  crew,  which 
could  not  fail  of  breeding  dissension. 

Massive  and  strongly  built  as  Braybrook  was,  the 
greater  preponderance  of  brute  strength  and  animal  cour 
age  in  the  second  mate  was  hardly  a  match  for  the  more 
sinewy,  cool,  quick,  fearless  mate.  God  grant  there  may 
be  no  personal  antagonism  between  two  such  men. 

During  all  the  evolutions  of  the  morning,  while  getting 
•.mcler- weigh  and  making  sail,  Braybrook  had  kept  too  ex 
clusively  at  his  station  on  the  main  hatch ;  though  he 
was  watchful  and  prompt  to  pass  the  orders  of  both  the 
pilot  and  the  mate,  yet  he  purposely  held  himself  aloof 
from  his  young  superior. 


62  The  Flsetwing. 

But  for  Raymond's  frank  and  manly  nature  —  which 
would  win  its  way  anywhere — one  might  doubt  of  his 
power  to  acquire  the  full  ascendancy  over  this  one  brutal 
man. 

As  Braybrook  had  been  chief  mate  on  his  previous  voy 
age,  and  was  a  successful  whaleman,  he  could  not  now 
help  feeling  scornful  and  dissatisfied  with  his  present 
position  when  he  found  himself  subordinate  to  so  young 
and  inexperienced  a  mate.  Captain  Talbert  had  not 
failed  to  detect  the  mutinous  drift  of  Braybrook's  feelings, 
and  the  mate  had  already  learned  to  hate  the  vicious, 
snarly  twang  in  the  voice  of  his  subordinate. 

Raymond  knew  that  the  second  mate  had  acquired 
large  experience  in  many  previous  voyages,  and  that  he 
was  a  good  disciplinarian  and  prime  whaleman.  But  he 
was  disgusted  to  find  that  he  was  a  coarse,  brutal  marti 
net;  a  quality  of  discipline  which  the  young  officer  could 
not  endure.  The  mate  did  not  know  that  the  arrogant 
Braybrook  had  been  given  extra  wages  —  a  mate's  lay  — 
and  that  he  was  expected  by  the  owners  to  do  most  of  the 
whale-killing.  And  it  was  well  that  he  did  not  possess 
this  knowledge  at  their  meeting,  else  professional  jealousy 
would  have  sharpened  his  glances  into  something  all  too 
scornful  for  endurance. 

While  Braybrook  knew  that  the  mate  had  always  sailed 
in  the  same  employ,  was  young,  and  a  pet  of  the  captain's, 
with  but  half  his  own  experience,  yet,  until  he  now  saw 
him  in  his  official  capacity  —  a  large,  self-poised,  imperi 
ous  youth  —  he  had  never  entertained  a  doubt  of  his  own 
mental  mastery,  as  well  as  whaling  superiority.  Thus 
was  he  piqued  and  angered  when  confronted  eye  to  eye 


The  Mental  Conflict.  63 

with  his  young  superior,  having  to  reluctantly  confess  that 
he  had  certainly  met  his  master  in  this  boy  whaleman. 

The  mental  conflict  between  the  two  was  brief  and  de 
cisive.  It  always  must  be  so  in  the  meeting  of  two  brave, 
ingenuous  souls.  By  some  swift  mental  process  of  com 
parison —  too  ethereal  for  analysis  —  when  two  such  spir 
its  meet  they  must  find  their  level  on  the  instant.  No 
matter  what  the  previously  prepared  ambush  may  be  — as 
in  Hraybrook's  case  —  the  conflict  is  always  short,  sharp, 
and  decisive. 

After  a  brief  talk  with  his  officers,  the  captain  left  the 
ship  in  charge  of  the  mate,  and  retired  into  the  cabin  to 
prepare  to  test  his  chronometers  with  the  land,  from  which 
they  must  soon  take  their  "departure." 

Raymond  at  once  assumed  control  of  the  deck,  pleas 
antly  ordering  Mr.  Braybrook  to  go  forward  and  get  the 
anchors  on  the  bow,  and  secure  them  thoroughly  for  sea 
service.  The  chains  were  also  unbent  and  ranged  down 
in  the  chain-pens.  Scrub-brooms  were  then  called  into 
play,  and  an  hour  was  spent  in  cleansing  the  deck  of 
every  vestige  of  river-mud,  their  last  memento  of  port. 

While  this  was  going  on,  Raymond  sat  at  his  ease,  re 
clining  in  the  quarter-boat,  watching  the  paces  of  the  ship. 
He  amused  himself  by  timing  the  ship's  speed  by  a  bird, 
a  bit  of  seaweed,  a  dead  crab  or  other  object  floating  on 
the  water. 

When  abreast  of  Vineyard  Sound,  a  broken  spar  was 
discovered  far  out  ahead,  with  a  bunch  of  kelp  adhering  to 
it,  and  on  it  a  couple  of  gray  gulls  holding  noisy  gossip. 
This  dismal  looking  mile-mark  of  the  sea  was  a  broken 
topmast  that  had  drifted  out  from  a  dismantled  wreck  on 


64  The  Flectiving. 

Devil's  Bridge,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sound,  and  it  gave 
the  mate  a  fine  sea-mark  by  which  to  estimate  the  ship's 
rate  of  sailing. 

Cuttyhunk  and  the  lightship  off  the  Sow  and  Pigs 
had  vanished  in  the  distance  astern.  The  striped  clay 
cliffs  of  Gay  Head  were  becoming  dim  and  indistinct  over 
the  quarter.  The  ship's  "  departure "  was  now  finally 
taken  from  No  Man's  Land,  a  small  habitable  island 
south  of  Vineyard. 

The  ship's  course  lay  to  the  southeast,  and  every  sail  was 
drawing  with  a  fresh  beam-wind.  The  dull  gray  sky  was 
in  sad  keeping  with  the  sea  and  the  great  ocean  solitude 
which  now  spread  out  before  them.  The  sickly  green 
waters  of  the  coast-soundings  were  heaving  about  them,  — 
an  ugly,  heart-saddening  color  for  the  homesick  hearts  to 
dwell  upon. 

Since  the  ship  took  "  departure  "  from  No  Man's  Land, 
the  green  hills  of  the  Vineyard  had  been  transformed  into 
an  ash-gray  color.  An  hour  after,  the  great  island  was 
just  discerned  on  the  quarter,  showing  a  purple  lump, 
diminishing  along  the  verge  of  the  horizon  until  lost  in  a 
dull  slate  color.  Past  the  last  point  of  Vineyard,  neither 
Nantucket  nor  the  coast  beyond  could  be  seen. 

When  the  land  had  vanished,  the  sun  was  westing  fast. 
The  wind  was  blowing  fresh  from  the  southwest  in  the 
face  of  a  strong  spring-tide  which  caused  a  sloppy,  wob 
bling  sea.  The  sickly  green  waves  began  to  curl  into 
noisy  crests,  making  foam  of  a  ghastly  hue,  unpleasant  to 
look  upon. 

In  the  eye  of  the  wind  hung  a  low  bank  of  nimbus 
clouds  slowly  heaving  up  over  the  horizon,  looking  black 


The  Doomed  Schooner.  65 

as  the  day  of  doom,  and  ominous  with  a  threat  of  rain. 
But  that  appearance  was  the  phenomenal  effect  of  the 
meeting  wind  and  tide. 

Far  out  ahead,  at  the  southeast,  great  mountains  of 
hoary-headed  cumuli  were  climbing  skyward  from  out  the 
warm  vapor  of  the  Gulf  Stream;  powerful  antagonist  to 
the  sluggish  rain-clouds  in  the  west. 

In  the  eastern  board  and  at  the  south,  numerous  vessels 
were  seen  displaying  their  white  sails  to  the  western  sun, 
gleaming  with  the  sheen  of  snow-drifts  on  the  dark  sea ; 
while  astern  and  at  the  west,  the  few  visible  vessels  looked 
like  another  tribe  of  aquatics,  with  their  dark,  dismal  look 
ing  sails  lying  in  the  shadow,  dimly  outlined  against  the 
black  background  of  nimbus. 

A  powerful  ocean-steamer,  foreign-bound,  loomed  up  at 
the  north,  with  her  red  stacks  just  emerging  into  view, 
vomiting  a  dense  black  smoke,  from  burning  soft  bitu 
minous  coal,  that  hung  draped  like  a  dingy  curtain 
against  the  lead-colored  sky. 

A  schooner,  evidently  a  West  Indiaman,  was  in  the 
near  foreground,  crossing  the  bow  of  the  Fleetwing.  She 
was  running  wing-ancl-\ving  with  all  her  light  kites  out, 
endeavoring  to  double  Nantucket  Shoals  before  dark.  As 
she  drew  past  and  displayed  her  stern,  "  Boston  "  was 
seen  painted  on  her  signboard.  The  white  letters  were 
streaked  with  rust,  and  her  rudder-chains  clanked  in  the 
swash  of  the  sea,  like  the  shackles  of  Bonnivard. 

The  little  craft  was  deep  and  "  logy,"  wallowing  awk 
wardly  through  the  strong  tide-rips  and  the  choppy  sea. 
She  had  undergone  heavy  weather,  and  was  making  water 
freely,  for  her  pumps  were  going  with  a  steady  rhythmic 


66  TJic  Flcctiving. 

clang  that  smote  upon  the  ear  and  conjured  up  visions  of 
wreck  and  drowning. 

As  the  ship  crossed  the  wake  of  the  doomed  vessel, 
there  rose  a  sickening  smell  of  a  mixture  of  molasses  and 
palm-oil,  products  of  the  tropic  isles  whence  she  had 
come.  Before  morning  she  was  wrecked  on  Sconset 
Head  while  running  for  Sankaty  Light. 

A  long,  low-running  swell  began  heaving  in  from  the 
southeast,  disturbing  the  ship's  equilibrium  a  trifle,  by 
making  her  courtesy  too  obsequiously  to  the  grim  sea- 
gods. 

The  rising  undulation  and  the  heaped-up  cumulus  were 
unpleasant  intimations  of  rough  weather  and  foul  wind 
awaiting  the  ship.  But  an  angry  snarl  of  the  elements 
must  be  looked  for  in  passing  through  the  Gulf  Stream. 
It  is  a  greater  weather-breeder  than  Cape  Horn  or  the 
Stormy  Cape.  There  a  dreadful  sea-demon  watches  that 
no  vessel  shall  pass  without  displaying  her  sea-going  quali 
ties  and  the  temper  of  her  crew. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

UNCLE   JOE   DISCLOSING  THE   MYSTERIES. 


the  afternoon,  the  seamen  were  all  kept 
busily  at  work  upon  the  chafing-gear.  Wherever  a 
brace  or  other  running  rope  came  in  contact  with  the 
standing  rigging,  there  a  wooden  Scotchman,  or  woven 
mats,  were  put  on  for  protection.  Landsmen  cannot  con 
ceive  the  amount  of  oft-recurring  labor  of  this  kind  on  a 
vessel,  especially  a  new  one  just  from  port,  required  to 
protect  the  shrouds  and  backstays  from  the  fret  and  chafe 
of  conflicting  ropes. 

At  eight  bells,  —  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  —  all 
hands  were  called  down  from  aloft.  Marline-spikes,  tar- 
buckets,  and  spun-yarn,  were  stowed  snugly  away  in  the 
boson's  locker  for  the  night.  All  hands  were  then  gath 
ered  amidships,  for  the  purpose  of  choosing  sea-watches 
and  boats'  crews  for  the  four  boats.  The  sea-watches  are 
designated  as  starboard  and  larboard  watches.  The  first 
is  also  called  the  captain's  ;  the  other,  the  mate's  watch. 
Usually  the  second  mate  heads  the  captain's,  and  the 
third  officer  the  mate's  ;  but  in  emergencies,  both  captain 
and  mate  head  their  own  watches. 

There  were  thirty-four  men  on  board.  The  cook, 
steward,  and  cabin  boy  were  reckoned  as  deadheads, 

67 


68  The  Flcetwing. 

having  all  day  out  and  all  night  in.  After  the  crew  had 
been  divided  into  two  watches,  Captain  Talbert  and  the 
three  superior  officers  chose  their  boats'  crews. 

The  captain  chose  Tahiti  John  as  boat-steerer  for  the 
starboard  boat.  John  had  been  foremost  hand  with  him 
on  two  previous  voyages,  and  was  a  smart,  active  de 
scendant  of  Queen  Pomare.  The  fourth  mate,  Mr. 
Antoine  Joseph,  would  head  the  boat  when  the  captain 
did  not  go  in  her. 

Nantucket  Jim  —  said  to  have  been  born  with  a  har 
poon  in  his  hand  —  was  selected  as  bow-oarsman,  a  posi 
tion  requiring  a  cool,  fearless  fellow,  one  who  would  bow 
on  when  ordered,  even  if  the  flukes  of  a  hundred-barreler 
were  fanning  his  cheek. 

In  this  connection,  Captain  Talbert  loved  to  tell  of 
the  time  when  Charlie  Raymond  —  then  a  mere  boy  — 
bowed  him  on  to  a  fighting  sperm  whale  on  the  Japan 
ground.  Raymond  hauled  the  boat  steadily  on  through 
the  boarding  seas  and  the  hissing  foam  without  flinching 
a  hair,  though  the  boy's  hat  had  been  knocked  off  by  the 
ponderous  flukes,  and  his  bow  oar  was  sent  spinning  fifty 
feet  in  the  air. 

After  the  perilous  tussle  was  over,  during  which  the 
"  old  man  "  had  driven  his  lance  home  to  the  vitals,  and 
brought  blood,  he  ordered  the  boat  slacked  astern  out  of 
danger,  and  turned  with  admiration  to  the  brave  boy, 
saying :  — 

"  Charlie,  my  lad,  you're  the  stuff  to  make  a  whaleman 
of.  Slack  away  your  line  ;  a  miss  is  as  good  as  a  mile 
for  your  little  head  any  day.  You  shall  have  my  best  hat 
when  we  get  aboard,  to  replace  yours." 


The  Brave  Bowman.  69 

But  when  the  boat  had  been  fairly  slacked  out  of  the 
seething  waters,  Charlie  fainted  dead  away,  and  tumbled 
into  the  bottom  of  the  boat.  Captain  Talbert  caught  him 
up,  and  found  his  left  ear  badly  bruised,  and  the  whole 
side  of  his  head  and  shoulder  made  black  and  blue  by  the 
nearness  of  the  blow  from  the  whale  while  hauling  on. 
Brainal  congestion  had  taken  place  ;  and  it  was  many 
weeks  before  the  brave  boy  was  wholly  rid  of  the  trau 
matic  fever  which  followed. 

From  that  day  Charlie  Raymond  was  elected  to  the 
topmost  rung  of  the  ladder  for  heroism,  and  became 
endeared  to  every  one  on  board.  Such  a  reputation, 
once  established,  requires  a  cool  head  and  fearless  heart 
to  maintain  ;  for  continuous  heroism  is  ever  after  expected 
of  one.  That  accidental  blow  was  the  prime  incentive  of 
his  whole  after  life. 

But  now  that  he  had  been  made  mate  so  young,  with 
such  a  strong  team  as  Braybrook  and  Uncle  Joe  Bailey  to 
contend  with,  it  certainly  seemed  impossible  for  Raymond 
to  hold  his  own  against  men  of  their  large  experience. 
Yet  we  know  that  there  is  an  intuitive  genius  in  such  fel 
lows,  which  often  impels  them  to  short  cuts  through  old 
methods,  doing  things  that  flash  upon  us  with  the  glamour 
of  originalities.  The  sequel  alone  can  tell. 

The  mate  made  choice  of  brave  John  Hoogley  for  his 
boat-steerer.  John  was  a  tall,  lithe,  intelligent-looking 
Malay,  with  a  piercing  black  eye,  which  glittered  Hke  an 
eagle's.  He  had  been  harponier  on  previous  voyages, 
and  bore  the  reputation  of  never  having  missed  a  whale 
when  once  within  fair  dart  of  his  prey.  Hoogley  was  said 
to  be  a  Brahma  priest,  who  had  left  his  country  for  unknown 


70  The  Flectiving. 

reasons.  Be  that  as  it  may,  Raymond  had  made  choice 
of  him  in  New  Bedford,  as  one  who  would  fasten  to  a 
whale  in  whatever  position  of  peril  the  boat  might  be 
carried.  And  it  may  well  be  conjectured  that  the  hot- 
blooded  mate  had  already  contemplated  many  a  daring 
skirmish  during  the  coming  voyage.  He  had  done  well 
in  choosing  a  Brahmin,  one  who  believed  heroism  to  be 
the  best  passport  to  the  heaven  of  Brahma. 

The  mate  chose  hardy,  well  knit  Americans  for  his 
oarsmen.  Tom  Crawford,  the  bow-oarsman,  was  the  best 
man  in  the  ship  for  any  conceivable  emergency  ;  brave 
old  Buntline  was  taken  for  the  midship  oar.  Both  of 
these  men  had  sailed  with  Raymond  since  he  first  went 
afloat ;  and  they  loved  the  peril  of  whisking  flukes  as  well 
as  their  young  officer.  The  other  two  oarsmen  were  new 
to  whaling  business. 

It  was  thought  Braybrook  had  the  best  boat-steerer. 
Morey  had  steered  him  the  voyage  before,  and  ought  to 
have  had  a  third  mate's  berth ;  but  at  Braybrook's 
request  the  agent  secured  Morey  by  an  extra  lay  and 
three  hundred  dollars  bonus.  The  waist  boat's  crew  were 
all  Portuguese,  strong,  hardy  Fayal  fishermen,  docile  to 
their  superiors,  and  having  great  endurance  upon  a  long 
pull.  Every  man  of  them  was  minus  a  forefinger  on  the 
right  hand,  —  a  crafty  amputation  to  which  the  Azore 
people  submit  to  prevent  forced  enlistment  into  the  ser 
vice  of  the  Portuguese  king. 

The  boats'  crews  were  instructed  in  their  special  duties 
by  their  own  boatheaders.  The  third  mate's  method  of 
teaching  his  crew  all  the  nice  points  to  be  observed  when 
catching  a  whale  was,  perhaps,  the  most  worthy  of  note, 


Uncle  Joe  Bailey.  71 

as  Mr.  Bailey  was  not  only  the  best  whaleman  on  board, 
but  the  best  known  whale-killer  in  the  fleet  of  six  hundred 
vessels. 

Uncle  Joe  Bailey  was  a  cripple.  He  had  encountered 
the  ferocious  whale  Mocha  Dick  thirty  years  before, 
when  his  boat  was  stove,  and  he  was  left  floating  about 
on  the  water  for  dead.  Having  been  picked  up  after  a 
while,  and  taken  on  board  for  burial,  he  was  found  to  be 
alive,  but  maimed  and  mangled  as  few  could  be  and  live. 
Both  legs  and  an  arm  were  broken,  and  one  eye  was 
gone. 

Believing  he  was  saved  for  a  purpose  by  the  Divine 
Providence,  the  young  colored  officer  ever  after  was  a 
pious,  prayerful  man.  Since  that  dreadful  day,  the  one 
absorbing  thought  of  his  life  had  been  to  search  out  and 
kill  the  "  Demon  Whale,"  who  was  yearly  destroying 
many  other  boats,  killing  or  maiming  their  crewSj  and 
occasionally  sinking  ships  by  dashing  his  mighty  head 
against  their  sides  or  breaching  across  their  decks,  crush 
ing  them  at  a  blow.  < 

This  white-headed  old  patriarch  was  a  queer  mixture  of 
negro  and  Gay  Head  Indian.  His  father  was  a  Vineyard 
chief ;  his  black  mother,  a  plantation  slave,  whom  his 
sailor  father  had  wooed,  and  subsequently  abducted  from 
Mobile,  and  taken  to  his  Nantucket  home.  This  novel 
parentage  accounted  for  Uncle  Joe's  droll  negro  idiom 
and  quaint  Nantucket  provincialism. 

Joe  Bailey  was  a  grave  study  for  the  physiognomist, 
and  impressed  people  differently.  The  closed  port  of  his 
larboard  eye  imparted  to  the  starboard  optic  a  double 
degree  of  expression,  whether  the  mood  was  sad  and 


/2  The  Fleetwing, 

solemn,  or  bubbling  over  with  fun  and  frolic.  A  humorous 
person  could  not  forbear  smiling  audibly  when  first  con 
fronted  with  such  a  long,  lank,  ungainly  body,  made 
doubly  awkward  by  the  badly  set,  angular  arm,  and  the 
comical  limp  of  his  two  crooked  legs,  which  in  walking 
dipped  and  rose  like  a  dancing  Jack ;  something  as  a 
crank  ship  careens,  in  a  squall,  then  rises  with  many  :i 
jerky  lift  in  the  lulls. 

Fifty  years  of  seagoing  life  had  shrivelled  and  furrowed 
Joe  Bailey's  tan-colored  visage  to  the  hue  of  leather  ;  this, 
with  his  shaggy,  overhanging  brows,  served  to  impart  a 
look  of  rough-hewn  wisdom  to  the  old  man's  peaked,  an 
gular  face.  At  first  sight,  one  would  think  that  such  a 
decrepit  person  was  more  fit  for  a  "  snug  harbor  "  at  home 
than  poising  a  lance  in  a  tottling  whaleboat  at  sea.  But 
the  closer  scrutiny  of  a  more  sagacious  observer  passed  a 
different  verdict.  There  was  a  keen  intelligence  and  a 
shining  soul-light  discovered  in  the  old  man's  one  soft, 
dark  eye  and  luminous  face,  together  with  a  hint  of  latent 
strength  and  activity  in  his  free-swinging,  brawny  arms, 
which  led  one  not  to  condemn  his  usefulness  in  time  of 
action  because  of  his  skeleton  frame  and  ungainly  limbs. 

Crippled  in  legs,  arm,  and  eye,  the  saintly  old  whale 
man  ever  bore  about  him  a  solemn  reminder  of  his  rash 
vow  to  follow  on  the  track  of  Mocha  till  his  death.  He 
was  commiserated  for  his  deformity,  respected  for  hi> 
Christian  piety,  but  above  all  was  he  venerated  for  a  mar 
vellous  degree  of  prophetic  wisdom  about  whales,  which 
frequently  appalled  his  superstitious  class.  Irreligious 
sailors  would  often  declare  Uncle  Joe  to  be  in  league  with 
Satan,  so  reliable  were  his  predictions  as  to  the  where- 


77u-  Christian  Officer.  73 

abouts  of  whales  ;  but  Joe  Bailey's  only  incantations  were 
by  prayer.  It  was  truly  said  of  the  good  old  man  that  he 
often  beheld  angels  in  his  dreams,  and  was  in  frequent 
communion  with  the  great  Unseen  during  his  daily  prayers, 
so  that  God's  loving  presence  was  as  familiar  to  this  pious 
soul  as  a  father's  face  to  his  child. 

Mr.  Bailey  proved  a  valuable  acquisition  to  every  ship 
in  which  he  sailed.  His  services  were  secured  by  a  writ 
ten  agreement  with  the  owners  that  once  during  the 
voyage  the  ship  should  cruise  on  the  ground  of  his  desig 
nation,  where  his  prophetic  vision  had  discovered  Mocha 
Dick.  With  such  a  life-purpose,  the  old  seer  was  always 
planning  new  ways  to  kill  a  mad  whale  ;  for  the  cunning 
of  the  Demon  Whale  was  such  that  he  never  attacked  a 
boat  twice  alike.  Many  brave  whalemen  had  harpooned 
the  monster,  but  none  could  kill  him,  as  their  boats  would 
be  knocked  skyward  the  next  moment,  or  crushed  between 
his  terrible  jaws.  So  great  was  the  dread  of  this  whale 
that  the  Mocha  Dick  cruising-ground  was  always  kept 
secret  from  the  crew,  and  sometimes  from  the  officers, 
who  often  became  panic-stricken.  In  one  instance,  an 
old  officer  became  insane  in  fear  of  being  killed  by  the 
mad  whale  his  ship  was  cruising  for. 

Bailey  was  certainly  a  most  sagacious  and  observing 
man,  and  had  acquired  great  knowledge  of  the  habits  of 
whales  and  the  nature  of  their  most  attractive  cruising- 
places.  He  was  the  first  to  teach  captains  to  look  for 
whales  near  the  land  on  full  and  change  of  the  moon,  — 
a  time  when  every  fish  in  the  sea  travels  shoreward,  — but 
to  seek  whales  on  the  quarters  of  the  moon  in  the  swirl 
ing  eddies  along  the  edges  of  great  ocean  currents,  where 


74  The  Fteetwing. 

they  may  be  found  making  passage  from  one  ground  to 
another. 

It  was  a  favorite  speculation  of  Uncle  Joe's  that  most 
of  the  large  sperm  whales  hibernated  at  the' bottom  of  the 
deep  sea  during  the  moon's  quarters,  where  they  fed  on 
the  juicy  flesh  of  the  squid,  a  monster  larger  than  the 
whales  themselves.  The  magnetic  influence  of  the  full 
moon,  which  imparts  virility  to  every  living  thing,  brings 
the  whale  up  breaching  to  the  surface  again,  and  usually 
near  to  the  land.  These  theories  are  still  maintained  by 
the  most  successful  men  of  the  fleet. 

Cape  de  Verde  Jose,  a  tall,  raw-boned  colored  Portu 
guese,  had  been  shipped  to  steer  the  bow  boat.  He  was 
a  bold,  surly,  unbridled  barbarian,  and  seemed  much  too 
turbulent  a  fellow  to  be  easily  managed  by  an  unassuming 
person  like  Mr.  Bailey,  who  had  not  the  prestige  of  a 
white  officer  to  help  create  discipline.  But  the  cute  old 
man  had  his  own  peculiar  tactics,  by  which  he  gained 
perfect  mastery  over  his  men. 

After  the  watches  and  crews  had  been  chosen,  Uncle 
Joe  hobbled  along  to  the  bow  boat,  in  his  distressing,  see 
saw  gait,  climbed  up  into  the  stern-sheets,  and  called 
lustily  for  his  crew  :  — 

"  Cum  'long  heah,  all  de  white  folk  an'  de  pink-starned 
darkies  wot  b'long  ter  de  bow  boat.  Skuf  'long  dis  way. 
.nil  yer  game  chickuns  wot  wanter  larn  yer  dooty.  Clum 
up  heah  inter  de  boat,  an'  h'ar  yer  ole  farder  tek  his  tex' 
frum  de  log-book." 

The  four  oarsmen  climbed  gleefully  up  into  the  boat, 
and  were  assigned  their  thwarts.  The  surly  boat-steerer 
got  upon  the  rail,  and  leaned  over  the  boat's  bow  with  a 


Uncle  Joe  s  Sarmon.  75 

disdainful  look  upon  his  face,  implying  that  he  did  not 
require  teaching.  Taking  each  in  turn,  Mr.  Bailey  taught 
the  men  their  special  duties,  as  well  as  the  perils  of  their 
places. 

"  Now,  chilun,  jus'  cum  ter  anchor  in  yer  places,  an' 
h'ar  de  sarmon  'bout  de  oars  an'  de  paddles,  how  ter  starn 
all,  an'  pull  ahead.  Tut,  tut,  no  laffin'  in  meetum  time. 
Open  yer  tinkin'-box,  an'  pile  in  de  'hole  lectur' ;  becase, 
honeys,  when  de  'parm  whale  cum  roun'  de  boat,  bite, 
bite,  hungry  for  boy  meat  an'  cedar,  yo'  uns  wanter 
starn  queak,  pull  t'ree  oar  an'  back  two  lively,  an'  wisey 
wersy. 

"  Fur  bimeby,  whin  yer  ole  mudders  cum  down  ter  de 
wharf,  an'  ax  Uncle  Joe,  '  Whar's  my  chilun,  ole  gent  ? ' 
sezee,  '  All  rite,  missis.'  But  dem  uns  wot  dunno  de  tex', 
doze  yere  chiluns  wot  laff  in  meetum  time,  dey  won't  be 
dar!  An'  whin  yer  ole  mudders  ax  fur  yez,  wot'll  I  sez  ? 

"  Eh,  ah  !  dis  yere  cullud  pussun  wul  jus'  pint  ter  heb- 
*  ben  wid  de  finger  wat  Mocha  Dick  bit  off;  fur  all  yez 
dead  chilun  wul  be  gawn  ter  glory  wid  dat  finger. 

"  Darfo',  honeys,  all  dem  yere  brudders  ob  spect'ble 
color,  wid  de  niggars  hove  in,  jus  yer  look  at  dese  yere 
ole  wapple-jawed  flippers  an'  walkers  ob  mine.  Obsarve 
dat  dis  ole  niggar  hab  seen  sarvice,  an'  means  bizness 
whin  he  lectur'  de  boys." 

Turning  to  little  Jack  Crow,  the  steerage  boy,  who  was 
to  pull  the  stroke  oar,  the  old  man  continued  :  — 

"  Now,  yo'  leedle  white  chick  wot  pulls  de  arter  oar, 
lemme  splain  ter  yez.  Dish  am  yo'  oar.  Put  yer  sit-down 
yere  whar  yer  b'long.  Dish  foot-brace  am  fur  de  toes 
whin  yo'  make  de  back  bend  like  ar  whalebone.  Mind, 


76  TJie  Fleefaing. 

dearie,  wot  yer  old  farder  sez  whin  de  big  whale  am  clos' 
roun'.  Doan  yer  turn  yer  blue  peepers  for'ard  ter  look  et 
nuffin,  but  mind  yer  oar." 

Addressing  the  next  oarsman,  whom  he  had  seated  on 
the  tub-thwart,  he  explained:  — 

"  Hyah,  Bill  Brown,  yuz  de  tub-oarsman.  Mind  yo'  no 
flop  'bout  wid  yer  fins  an'  flukes  whin  de  whale's  roun'. 
Doan  yo'  stick  yer  flippers  in  de  coil  whin  de  line  go  zip, 
zip,  past  yer  starboard  eye.  Fur  look  ah  heah,  see  dis 
finger  wot  am  step'd  out,  becuz  de  leedle  niggar  Joe 
dunno  no  better  in  dose  days." 

Eying  the  surplus  avoirdupois  of  the  Dutchman  on  the 
next  thwart,  the  one  humorous  eye  of  the  old  man  twin 
kled  with  fun,  as  he  addressed  him  :  — 

"  Eh,  ah,  big  Dutchy  !  Dis  ole  niggar  wud  like  ter 
edicate  yo'  un  how  ter  trim  boat.  De  pint  am  ter  sot  still, 
an'  doan  yer  shift  ballast  fo'  de  ole  man  told  yer.  Dish 
yere  am  de  midship  oar.  Kep  yer  wedder  eye  skinned 
whin  de  tussle  cums,  an'  doan  yer  look  for'ard  sorter" 
skeery  'bout  de  whale,  but  jist  trim  dish.  Fur  dis  ole 
gent  gits  dreffle  cross  sumtime,  whin  de  boys  am  gawkin' 
roun',  an'  doan  mind  queak." 

Stepping  forward  over  the  thwarts  with  the  rhythmic 
motion  of  a  crocodile,  the  oid  man  addressed  his  only 
colored  oarsman,  a  good-natured,  ebony-black  fellow  :  — 

"  Law  ar  mussy !  Talio  John,  yez  gut  dreffly  tanned 
las'  time  ashore.  Nuffin  but  'parm-a-city  frum  de  whale's 
head  wul  bleach  yer.  Well,  Tally,  yez  brack  nuf  ter  kno' 
dis  yam  de  bow  oar.  Dese  yere  am  de  bow-cleats,  what 
yer  bow  de  line  ter  haul  yo'  ole  farder  'longside  de  critter 
ter  make  de  tar  cum." 


Uncle  Joe  s  Wrath.  77 

The  boat-steerer  had  slipped  away  long  before  Uncle 
Joe  got  ready  to  lecture  him.  This  had  the  effect  to  ele 
vate  the  old  man's  "  ebenezer,"  and  slightly  disconcert 
him  at  this  first  breach  of  discipline. 

"  Whar's  dat  yere  milk  an'  molasses  niggar?  Marvel 
'long  dish  way,  yer  white-wash'd  Portugee  !  Doan  yer  go 
ter  tink  yo'  old  farder  kant  splain  ar  ting  or  two  ter  yez, 
kaze  yo'  bin  steer  ar  boat  befo'  dis  v'y'ge.  Mussy  sakes  ! 
Jose  Verd,  dish  yere  cullud  pussun  bin  kotch  'parm 
whales  duzzen  year  fo'  yoz  born.  Darfo,'  sah,  jist  'mem 
ber  dat  Joe  Bailey  heads  dis  yere  boat — -hisself,  an' 
doan  want  no  Portugee  niggar  ter  help  'im  !  Dis  chile 
gibs  de  orders,  sah,  an'  spects  dem  yere  orders  'beyed, 
dubble-queek  time. 

"  Now,  dis  am  de  tex'  fo'  yo',  sah ;  doan  yer  dart  till 
yo'  ole  farder  teld  yer.  Doan  yer  strike  de  'parm  whale's 
head,  nor  de  right  whale's  bilge  whin  de  back  holler  in  ; 
fur  de  iron  won't  go  dar,  honey.  Prick  off  de  'parm 
whale  in  de  eye,  or  down  in  'is  mouf,  yo'  brack  brudder. 
Prick  off  de  right  whale  on  de  tip  ob  de  nose,  whar  de 
smellers  gro' !  An,'  Jose,  hold  yer  han'  whin  yo'  go  'n 
'longside  de  sparm  whale,  an'  put  de  iron  in  two-thirds 
frum  de  hump  ter  de  bunch  ob  de  neck.  Dat  brings  de 
blood,  honey.  An,'  Jose,  put  de  iron  inter  de  right  whale 
six  fut  beaft  de  spout-'ole,  jus'  ober  de  shoulder  :  an'  h'ar  de 
peoples  holler  :  '  Dar's  blood  !  Dead  whale  fur  dat  niggar ! ' 

"  Dar,  chilun,  dat'll  do  fur  dis  time.  Ke'p  de  'hole 
sarmun  wevolvin'  round  'n  yer  noddle-box,  an'  Uncle 
Joe  wul  make  suffin  ob  yer  yit.  Now  skedaddle  whar 
yer  b'long.  Go  an'  fill  your  bread-locker  full  ob  fried 
'ysters  an'  chic'un  pie." 


78  The  Fleetwing. 

Mr.  Bailey's  final  admonition,  for  the  boys  to  improve 
their  menu,  brought  down  the  house.  An  uproar  of 
laughter  burst  forth  from  the  group  of  officers  and  men 
who  had  gathered  about  the  boat  unnoticed  by  the  third 
mate.  The  other  officers,  not  having  gone  into  details 
with  their  men,  had  soon  dismissed  their  crews,  and  all 
quietly  grouped  beaft  the  try  works  to  listen  to  Uncle 
Joe's  cute  instructions  to  his  surly  boat-steerer.  When 
the  harangue  was  finished,  the  mate  called  out:  — 

"  Well  done,  Mr.  Bailey ;  you  seem  to  be  putting  your 
boys  through  a  collegiate  education." 

"  Well,  sah,  it  wul  all  cum  in  play  whin  we  git  down  off 
de  '  King  Mills,'  whar  de  niggars  am  born  wid  dar  clos' 
on,  an'  whar  de  'parm  whale  hab  dreffle  sight  ob  shark 
'bout  urn." 

"  We  must  get  you  to  teach  our  crews  some  of  these 
whaling  mysteries." 

"  No,  Misser  Raymon',  each  ob  de  chilun  mus'  larn 
de  ways  ob  his  own  boat-header.  Odderwise,  sah,  de 
'hole  matter  wud  go  starn  fust,  like  de  pig  in  ar  hail 
squall." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

NIGHT   SCENE    IN   THE   CABIN. 

A  T  length  the  shades  of  night  began  to  gather  down 
^^  over  the  great  solitude  of  waters.  As  daylight  faded 
slowly  away,  the  purple  horizon  hastened  to  draw  near 
and  nearer  unto  the  ship,  until  one  could  almost  lay  his 
hand  upon  the  dark  sea-rim,  which  an  hour  since  was 
miles  away. 

The  ship  was  not  yet  in  the  hands  of  the  night-watch. 
It  was  the  second  dog-watch,  and  the  captain  and  mate 
were  leisurely  pacing  up  and  down  the  opposite  sides  of 
the  quarter-deck,  laying  out  the  necessary  work  of  the 
coming  day.  It  would  be  a  busy  day  for  all  hands  to  fit 
the  boats  for  whaling,  and  complete  the  countless  chaf 
ing-gear  of  the  ship. 

A  tub  of  new  line  must  be  coiled  for  each  of  the  four 
boats,  together  with  a  spare  line  to  replace  the  accidental 
loss  of  one.  A  full  complement  of  harpoons,  lances, 
spades,  knives,  and  boat-hatchets  were  to  be  sharpened 
and  fitted  for  each  boat. 

New  rowlocks  must  be  served  and  covered  with  leather 
or  raw-hide,  each  made  to  fit  its  own  oar,  lest  its  cheeping 
noise  should  disturb  the  ever-watchful  whale.  Lantern 
kegs  were  to  be  unheaded  by  the  cooper,  stowed  with  a 

79 


8o  The  Fleetwing. 

boat-lantern,  flint  and  steel,  and  then  be  chocked  off  with 
sea  biscuit  —  providential  food  in  time  of  need  —  and  the 
kegs  caulked  tightly  and  slung  beneath  the  stern-sheets  of 
each  boat.  Every  precaution  must  be  taken  that  the  boats 
should  be  ready  for  an  encounter  with  whales,  though  the 
rich  prey  might  be  delayed  for  weeks  or  months. 

Wear)'  of  his  walk  in  the  dog-watch  gloom,  Captain 
Talbert  bade  the  mate  give  Mr.  Bailey  charge  of  the  deck, 
and  together  they  would  join  the  ladies  in  the  cabin,  be 
fore  they  wrote  up  the  logs  for  the  night. 

The  upper  cabin  of  the  Fleetwing  was  a  half-trunk 
deck-house,  with  a  front  entrance  leading  from  the  quarter 
deck.  There  were  passageways  on  each  side  of  the 
cabin  leading  aft  to  the  helm  and  the  spanker. 

The  front  cabin  was  entered  through  a  short  vestibule. 
The  mate's  stateroom  was  on  the  right  side  of  this  vesti 
bule,  and  the  steward's  pantry  on  the  left.  The  main 
saloon,  beyond,  was  neatly  finished  with  black  walnut  and 
maple.  The  dining-table,  on  the  port  side  of  the  saloon, 
was  strongly  secured  to  the  deck.  A  row  of  cushioned 
seats  surrounded  three  sides  of  the  table.  Above  it  was 
a  swinging  tray,  slung  from  the  ceiling,  its  lower  part 
being  used  for  table  implements ;  while  above  was  a  rack, 
glittering  with  tumblers  and  decanters,  with  a  water 
pitcher  in  the  centre. 

The  mizzenmast  passed  down  through  the  after  part 
of  the  saloon,  and  was  prettily  encased  in  plate  mirror  on 
three  sides.  A  mercurial  barometer  for  general  use  was 
suspended  from  the  front  of  the  mast,  from  which  the 
night-watches  sought  indications  for  change  of  weather, 
and  recorded  them  on. the  log-slate. 


TJic  Cabin.  81 

Though  surrounded  with  side  windows,  the  cabin  was 
best  lighted  by  a  large  skylight  overhead,  in  which  a 
transparent  telltale  compass  hung,  convenient  for  the 
officer  to  read  on  the  top  of  the  house,  as  well  as  in  the 
cabin.  The  light  from  the  cabin  table  served  to  illumi 
nate  the  compass-card  at  night,  so  that  it  was  still  useful 
to  the  night-watch  on  deck. 

Staterooms  for  three  of  the  officers  were  on  the  star 
board  side  of  the  cabin,  opposite  the  dining-table,  each 
room  containing  two  berths.  The  third  and  fourth  mates 
had  the  forward  room,  and  Mr.  Braybrook  and  the  cabin 
boy  occupied  the  after  stateroom.  The  sea-chests  of  the 
officers  were  secured  in  their  rooms,  and  served  as  seats. 

Entering  the  after  cabin,  one  was  greeted  with  surprise 
and  pleasure  at  the  elegance  and  convenience  of  the 
ladies'  saloon.  Mrs.  Talbert  and  Miss  Allston,  the  lady 
passenger,  were  sitting  on  a  sofa  richly  upholstered  with 
crimson  plush.  This  was  secured  against  the  after  part 
of  the  cabin,  facing  the  bureau,  medicine-chest,  and  the 
two  chronometers,  all  of  which  were  ranged  along  the 
opposite  side. 

In  the  middle  of  this  charming  boudoir  stood  a  large 
mahogany  centre-table,  firmly  fastened  to  the  deck.  Pro 
jecting  two  feet  above  the  centre  of  this  table  was  a  slen-. 
der  steel  spindle,  to  which  numerous  ingenious  sewing  im 
plements  were  attached.  The  lower  contrivance  which 
revolved  on  the  spindle  was  a  lady's  work-basket,  contain 
ing  compartments  filled  with  every  conceivable  nicknack 
used  in  needle-work.  Above  the  basket,  revolved  a  beau 
tiful  ivory  spool-stand,  with  receptacles  for  thirty  varieties 
of  silks  and  threads,  each  spool  reeling  upon  its  own 


82  The  Flectwing. 

spindle.  At  the  top  of  all  perched  a  charming  red  velvet 
watch-case,  made  to  represent  a  miniature  French  clock, 
wherein  Mrs.  Talbert's  tiny  watch  showed  the  time  to  all. 

The  spindle  upon  which  all  these  conveniences  were 
mounted  was  itself  hung  on  pivots  like  the  gimbals  of  a 
compass,  heavily  weighted  at  the  bottom  to  keep  it  up 
right  whatever  position  of  pitch  or  roll  the  ship  might 
undergo  in  stormy  weather. 

Captain  and  Mrs.  Talbert's  berth  was  on  the  starboard 
side  of  the  saloon,  hidden  behind  a  heavy  portiere.  This 
large  double  bed  was  also  hung  on  strong  iron  pintles  at 
each  end,  meant  to  be  always  upright,  as  a  compass. 
The  upper  berth  was  nearly  breast-high ;  beneath  this 
was  the  child's  berth,  swinging  from  the  same  pintles. 
Below  both  of  these  berths  was  a  long  narrow  box,  con 
taining  sufficient  ballast  to  counteract  the  weight  of  the 
three  occupants  above.  Once  nestled  in  this  sleeping- 
receptacle,  the  occupants  were  impervious  to  the  toss  and 
tumble  of  a  stormy  sea.  This  ingenious  bed,  as  well  as 
the  table  and  many  other  conveniences,  was  the  inven 
tion  of  Raymond  during  the  previous  voyage. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  saloon  there  was  a  small 
winding  stair  leading  down  to  a  neat  ladies'  cabin  below- 
deck,  where  Miss  Allston  occupied  a  berth.  This  cabin 
was  meant  for  a  retreat  during  violent  storms,  should  the 
wind  and  seas  become  too  noisy  in  the  upper  cabin,  or 
perhaps  crush  in  its  sides  with  an  unlucky  wave.  The 
lower  cabin  was  lighted  by  two  square  stern  windows,  high 
up  over  the  transom  lockers,  and  furnished  good  light  in 
fair  weather,  when  it  was  not  necessary  to  close  the 
wooden  dead-lights.  A  plated  swinging  lamp,  suspended 


About  Courting.  83 

from  the  carline  nearest  the  berth,  served  for  evening 
illumination:  lighting  up  the  bureau,  wardrobes,  sofa,  and 
numerous  trunks  lashed  to  the  forward  bulkhead. 

Mrs.  Talbert  was  very  fond  of  Raymond,  her  husband's 
favorite  young  officer,  and  she  at  once  replied  with  good- 
natured  repartee  to  one  of  the  mate's  jocular  remarks  as 
he  entered  the  cabin  :  — 

"  Well,  Charles,  I  saw  the  white  flag  from  the  housetop 
this  morning.  I  suppose  that  means  '  All's  well  that  ends 
well '  ? " 

"  Very  likely  it  does.  But  it  was  a  sad  time  for  one  of 
us,  I  know.  It  was  all  wrong  for  me  to  have  waited  till 
the  last  moment  for  a  final  understanding  with  Mary 
Tudor." 

"  Of  course  it  was,  you  goose.  Why  did  you  delay  so 
long  ? " 

"All  owing  to  the  captain's  giving  me  wrong  sailing 
orders  when  we  laid  out  the  dreadful  courting  campaign." 

"  Oh,  you  rogue,"  she  said  to  the  captain  ;  "  you  have 
been  meddling  with  this  delicate  matter,  have  you  ? " 

"  Well,  yes.  I  just  lent  a  hand  to  shape  course  and 
distance,  when  Raymond  took  his  love  tacks  aboard," 
replied  the  captain,  grinning. 

"  Why,  Daniel !  didn't  you  know  that  /  was  managing 
that  matter  ? "  with  a  mock-demure  look  on  her  face,  to 
express  her  pique  and  disappointment. 

"  Yes,  I  knew  you  had  slipped  the  boy's  fasts,  and  set 
him  afloat  in  a  free  wind  and  a  fair  tide  ;  running  the 
poor  fellow  off  dead  afore  it,  with  square  yards,  and  not 
a  single  fathom  of  ground-tackle  aboard  to  bring  to 
anchor  with,  in  case  of  a  squall." 


84  The  Flcctiving. 

"  What  of  it,  you  naughty  man  ?  Didn't  you  think  I 
could  teach .  him  best  how  a  pretty  damsel  should  be 
courted  ? " 

"  P'raps  so.  But  then  it's  all  wrong  for  a  young  chap 
to  go  sailing  with  a  flowing  sheet  after  that  fashion.  He's 
sure  to  forget  his  soundings,  and  risk  getting  aground, 
when  trying  to  board  one  of  those  shore-craft  too  soon. 
You'll  admit,  Annie,  I'm  the  better  sailor  of  the  two,  and 
I  tell  you  it's  best  to  try  a  new  gal  '  full-an  by,'  '  reach 
ing  and  beating,'  as  well  as  running  'fore  it ;  to  1'arn  all 
her  nice  p'ints  of  sailing,  'fore  you  pop.  That's  the  kind 
of  tactics  I  tried  on  you,  and  it  worked  fust  rate."  And 
the  old  skipper  laughed  heartily  at  the  wry  faces  his 
better  half  was  making. 

"  But  don't  you  see  that  you  have  broken  up  a  nice 
wedding  by  your  meddling,  my  dear  ?  Perhaps,  no\v, 
Raymond  will  lose  her  before  we  return.  Then  you'll 
feel  bad,  for  you  wished  him  to  be  married." 

"Ah,  there's  where  the  proof  of  the  pudding  comes  in, 
my  lady.  If  a  gal  misstays,  and  plumps  into  another 
consort  the  first  time  she's  tested,  then  abandon  the  craft, 
say  I.  It's  the  weatherly  qualities  of  the  heart,  the  sea 
going  condition  of  the  shore-critters,  that  a  sailor  wants 
to  test  'fore  he  splices." 

"  How  can  you  talk  so  about  such  a  bewitching  creature 
as  Mary  Tudor  ?  " 

"  Beauty  ain't  but  skin-deep,  anyway ;  and  her  pretty 
ways  are  only  fine  weather  qualities.  I  tell  Raymond  to 
select  a  gal  for  her  weatherly  p'ints  of  sailing,  as  I  did. 
There's  many  a  lee-shore  to  encounter  in  the  lives  of  us  all, 
and  it's  only  the  seagoing  qualities  of  a  gal  that  will  help 


•  No  Secrets  off  Sounding.  85 

her  to  hold  her  luff  in  the  ground-swells  and  lee-tides  of 
life.  Charlie  Raymond  don't  want  a  painted  dingy  to 
tow  at  his  stern,  in  fair  weather  or  foul ;  what  he  requires 
is  a  staunch,  weatherly,  free-going  craft,  that  will  keep 
tack  and  tack  with  him  through  all  the  voyage  of  life." 

"  Raymond  isn't  wholly  of  your  mind  about  Mary,  I 
know;  and  you  sha'n't  talk  so  about  her."  Turning  to 
the  mate,  Mrs.  Talbert  continued,  "  I  did  not  see  Mamie 
this  morning,  as  I  hoped  to;  so  you  must  promise  to  tell 
me  all  about  the  engagement." 

"Perhaps  so,"  said  the  blushing  officer,  "when  we 
deepen  the  water  a  little  more.  Blue  water  and  no 
soundings  is  the  only  proper  place  to  haul  a  sailor  into  the 
confessional." 

"  Well,  my  boy,"  said  the  kind-hearted  old  skipper, 
coming  to  the  mate's  relief,  "go  and  write  up  your  log 
book  for  the  day,  and  turn  in.  You've  had  a  busy  day, 
and  look  tired." 

"  Not  so  much  the  busy  day,  I  guess,"  added  Mrs. 
Talbert,  with  a  roguish  leer  at  the  abashed  young  officer, 
"  as  last  night's  late  hour  of  billing  and  cooing." 

"  Tut,  tut,  my  love  ;  mebby  you  and  I  did  all  that  sort 
of  thing  in  our  day,"  said  the  fond  captain  to  his  pretty 
young  wife. 

"  Now,  Daniel,  don't  talk  nonsense  before  the  company, 
for  Mr.  Raymond  says  the  water  isn't  blue  enough  yet  to 
tell  all  you  know." 

After  their  gay  laughter  had  subsided  at  this  jolly 
retort,  Raymond  bade  Miss  Allston  and  the  others  good 
night,  and  retired  to  write  up  his  log. 

"Oh,    isn't   he    nice!"    exclaimed    the   vivacious   lady 


86  The  Fleetwing. 

passenger  in  an  animated  tone,  the  moment  the  mate 
disappeared.  "  I  do  hope  his  girl  knows  how  to  prize 
him." 

"  She'll  prize  him,  no  doubt,  all  she  is  capable  of  doing. 
But  she  isn't  a  girl  of  much  resolution.  Yet  I  think  she'll 
be  true  to  him,  if  her  dreadful  worldly-wise  mother  don't 
compel  her  to  receive  attention  from  other  gentlemen, 
hoping  to  accomplish  a  more  speedy  marriage.  That's 
Mrs.  Tudor's  usual  way  of  doing.  Having  four  other 
daughters,  the  scheming  mother  will  hustle  the  whole  five 
of  them  into  premature  wedlock,  in  the  same  hasty  way 
that  she  did  the  three  older  ones." 

"  How  dreadful  to  think  of !  Mr.  Raymond  deserves 
a  better  fate  than  seems  in  store  for  him  from  that 
quarter." 

While  the  captain  sat  at  his  desk  writing  his  journal 
and  recording  the  true  "  departure "  of  the  ship,  Mrs. 
Talbert  went  below  with  the  girl  to  instruct  her  how  to 
manage  her  berth,  and  initiate  her  in  numerous  other  new 
quirks  of  sea-life.  As  the  ship  was  careened  to  port, 
Miss  Allston  was  taught  to  give  her  mattress  a  larboard 
hoist  over  against  the  lee  berth-board,  making  the  bed  as 
nearly  on  an  even-keel  as  the  low-berth-board  would 
permit.  If  the  wind  should  shift  during  the  night,  she 
was  told  to  hop  up  and  tack  ship  with  her  bed ;  thur. 
learning  to  counteract  all  the  sudden  sea-changes  of  the 
hour. 

Miss  Allston  belonged  in  Lowell,  and  in  early  life  had 
been  brought  up  in  affluence.  Her  father  had  been  dead 
two  years.  The  estate  was  greatly  involved  in  debt, 
leaving  the  family  in  poor  circumstances  ;  this  induced 


Asenith  Allston.  87 

Asenit'.i,  the  youngest  of  three  daughters,  to  take  passage 
to  Honolulu,  where  she  was  going  to  meet  an  old  lover 
and  former  schoolmate  by  the  name  of  Richards,  to  whom 
she  was  to  be  married. 

Raymond  had  known  Miss  Allston  in  his  schoolboy- 
days,  and  had  been  yachting  with  her  and  her  father  at 
Lowell  Island.  After  an  interval  of  years  the  acquaint 
ance  had  been  renewed  during  the  week  they  were 
staying  at  Captain  Talbert's  house,  in  New  Bedford, 
where  her  mother  was  visiting,  in  company  with  Ray 
mond's  mother,  previous  to  sailing. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

TOM    THRASHING   THE   PORTUGUESE. 

QUITE  a  different  scene  was  to  be  found  in  the  fore 
castle  of  the  Fleetwing  during  the  evening  hours. 
Entering  through  the  companionway,  and  descending  by 
the  steep,  narrow  steps  into  the  bedlam  of  noise  below, 
a  large,  roomy  forecastle  was  indistinctly  seen  through 
clouds  of  tobacco-smoke,  and  the  darkness  made  visible 
by  two  hanging  lamps  suspended  from  the  great  beams 
overhead. 

Even  by  daylight  the  forecastle  was  an  ill-lighted  place. 
The  four  ground-glass  lights  inserted  in  the  de|k\  together 
with  the  open  scuttle  of  the  gangway,  proved  insufficient 
to  dispel  the  gloom  of  the  place.  The  constant  dash  of 
spray  on  the  bows  forbade  the  use  of  bulls-eyes  in  the 
side,  like  those  on  the  quarters  of  the  ship. 

With  such  twilight  gloom  ever  pervading  the  family 
domain  of  the  sailors,  one  or  more  of  the  quaint  tin 
lamps,  shaped  like  double-nosed  coffee-pots,  were  kept 
burning  night  and  day.  From  these  dimly-flickering  lamps 
Jack's  oft-recurring  pipes  were  lighted,  an  occupation  dili- 
.  gently  followed  by  all  the  sailors  during  their  hours  of 
leisure. 

During  the  two  dog-watches  of  this  first  day  out,  the 
older  sailors  were  seen  busily  lashing  their  chests  to  the 

88 


Cock  of  the  Roost.  89 

deck  floor  and  the  berths,  to  prevent  their  capsizing  in  a 
heavy  seaway.  The  first  sailors  to  come  aboard  placed 
their  chests  near  to  their  berths,  which  permitted  them  to 
lash  the  chest-beckets  through  holes  made  for  the  purpose 
in  the  lower  bunk-boards.  This  first  row  of  chests  circled 
the  whole  forecastle.  The  beckets  of  the  second  tier 
were  secured  to  strong  staples  driven  into  the  lower  deck. 

This  orderly  arrangement  of  Jack's  furniture  is  a  work 
of  importance,  which  some  experienced  seaman  gener 
ally  takes  upon  himself  to  look  after.  If  a  chest  breaks 
adrift  in  a  gale,  it  not  only  tumbles  the  occupant  to 
leeward  with  the  loss  of  the  meal  he  may  chance  to  be 
eating,  but  with  the  more  considerable  risk  of  breaking 
his  neck. 

The  green  hands  were  seen  sandwiched  in  among  the 
seamen,  eagerly  watching  their  doings,  and  drinking  in 
every  briny  phrase  let  fall  from  the  lips  of  the  old  salts, 
deemed  by  the  youngsters  as  the  most  essential  elements 
of  their  nautical  education. 

Woe  to  the  forecastle  that  has  no  leading  spirit  strong 
enough  to  rule  over  its  chaotic  broils.  In  such  a  case,  it 
requires  a  dozen  or  more  fighting  bouts  to  determine  who 
shall  be  "cock  of  the  roost,"  the  "biggest  toad  in  the 
puddle." 

It  often  requires  weeks,  more  or  less,  to  fairly  assimilate 
such  a  motley  crew  as  the  Fleetwing's.  But  eventualities 
of  wind  or  weather  will  arise,  giving  occasion  for  winnowing 
the  chaff  from  the  wheat,  when  the  better  element  among 
them  comes  bounding  to  the  surface  of  the  seething  mass, 
and  asserts  the  leadership  by  unmistakable  tokens,  and 
holds  despotic  sway  throughout  the  voyage. 


90  The  Flcctiving. 

The  Portuguese  element  in  the  Fleetwing  was  such  as  is 
usually  found  in  the  forecastles  of  most  whalers.  It  is  a 
problem  which  requires  the  most  judicious  handling  at  the 
very  outset  of  the  voyage.  They  are  a  race  of  strong, 
robust  sailors,  though  quick-tempered,  and  ever  ready  to 
use  the  knife  upon  small  provocation. 

If  men  of  such  uncurbed  elements  acquire  the  ascen 
dency  in  a  ship's  forecastle,  they  become  the  veriest 
tyrants.  Many  of  these  Azores  men  are  minus  the  fore 
finger  of  the  right  hand  —  their  method  of  dodging  enlist 
ment —  and  if  they  come  to  rule,  others  must  obey,  under 
the  penalty  of  a  knife-stab,  or  at  least  be  deprived  of 
a  finger,  that  the  American  shall  no  longer  call  the  Port 
uguese  "four-fingered  Jack." 

The  first  display  of  a  deadly  weapon  took  place  at  an 
early  hour  of  the  dog-watch.  Most  of  the  crew  had  fin 
ished  their  supper,  and  were  then  lying  in  their  berths,  or 
lolling  around  on  the  chests,  puffing  away  at  their  pipes. 
On  the  starboard  side  of  the  forecastle  sat  a  merry  group 
of  American  seamen,  smoking  and  yarning.  Huge  Tom 
Crawford,  the  veteran  of  the  starboard  watch,  was  lean 
ing  against  the  bowsprit  bitts,  where  they  reached  down 
through  the  forecastle,  puffing  away  at  his  stubby  pipe, 
and  telling  a  humorous  story  of  his  brief  shore-life,  be 
tween  the  whiffs  of  smoke.  The  youngsters  were  gath 
ered  about  the  good-natured  sailor,  listening  intently  to 
every  word  which  fell  from  his  lips.  One  bright-eyed  lad 
sat  snuggled  up  to  old  Tom,  whose  ponderous  arm  —  big 
as  the  boy's  leg  —  lay  lovingly  abouf  the  youth,  whom  he 
had  adopted  as  his  bunk-mate.  The  youngsters  soon 
acquire  veneration  for  such  a  jolly  old  tar,  and  delight  to 
run  at  his  beck  and  call. 


A  Knock-down.  91 

Over  on  the  larboard  side  of  the  forecastle,  a  cluster 
of  six  Portuguese  sat  about  in  a  circle,  playing  cards, 
gambling  for  tobacco,  and  were  very  intent  upon  their 
game.  Several  of  these  black-bearded  foreigners  were 
boisterous  and  quarrelsome,  evidently  a  little  the  worse 
for  liquor;  for  occasionally  they  swore  vigorously  at  one 
another,  in  their  own  musical  tongue.  Big  Antonio 
seemed  to  be  the  noisy  arbitrator  among  them.  Yet, 
with  all  this  hubbub  among  the  Portuguese,  one  would 
get  the  general  impression  of  a  good-natured  jollity  per 
vading  the  scene. 

Suddenly  the  large  black-bearded  Antonio  snapped  up 
a  saucy-spoken  green  hand,  who  had  insinuated,  upon  see 
ing  a  Jack  turned  up,  that  the  whole  group  of  card-players 
were  "  four-fingered  Jacks."  This,  though  true,  was  an 
imprudent  speech  to  make  in  the  hearing  of  such  men, 
when  a  little  groggy.  The  boy  retorted  to  the  savage 
oath  of  the  Portuguese,  who  instantly  drew  a  glittering 
dirk  knife,  and  made  a  fierce  lunge  at  the  breast  of  the 
youth,  which  nearly  proved  fatal,  having  slashed  the  boy's 
clothes,  and  pierced  his  arm. 

In  an  instant  the  forecastle  was  a  scene  of  wild  uproar. 
Revengeful  threats  were  bandied  back  and  forth,  sounding 
ominous  in  the  smoky  gloom  which  pervaded  the  scene. 
Old  Tom  sprang  up  with  the  alacrity  of  youth,  when  he 
comprehended  what  had  happened  ;  stalked  quickly  across 
the  forecastle,  and,  without  a  word  of  preliminary  rebuke, 
let  fly  one  of  his  great  topmauls  at  the  head  of  the  burly 
assailant,  who  stood  brandishing  his  weapon,  vowing  ve'n- 
gance  upon  all  Yankees. 

The  huge  Portuguese  went  down  like  a  felled  ox  at  the 


92  The  Fleetwing. 

shambles,  falling  across  the  chests,  still  littered  with  play 
ing-cards,  where  he  lay  insensible,  as  if  dead.  An  instant 
hush  fell  upon  the  tumultuous  scene ;  all  eyes  bent  upon 
Tom,  awaiting  the  next  act. 

"  Pick  up  thet  ere  sticker,  an'  pass  it  over  'ere,"  said 
the  royal  fellow,  as  he  readied  out  his  ponderous  hand  for 
the  dirk. 

"  It  b'longs  ter  Antonio,  an'  yer  sha'n't  'av  it,"  replied 
one  of  the  quarrelsome  card-players,  as  he  picked  up  the 
knife  and  brandished  it  with  a  threatening  air. 

Tom's  long  arm  suddenly  left  his  side  again,  projected 
over  a-port,  like  an  animated  catapult ;  and  a  second  per 
son  of  the  Portuguese  nationality  lay  doubled  up  across 
the  first  one.  Crawford  caught  up  the  dirk  and  passed  it 
to  his  young  bunk-mate,  with  a  peremptory  order  to  go  on 
deck  and  throw  it  overboard. 

Whereupon  the  other  foreigners  drew  their  sheath- 
knives  and  stood  on  the  defensive ;  which  elicited  a  brief 
moral  discourse  from  Tom,  before  proceeding  to  further 
action,  for  he  had  been  the  Demosthenes  of  many  a  fore 
castle  in  the  past  score  of  years. 

"  Look  ar  'ere,  you  uns !  I've  a  blow  fur  every  durned 
'Guee  who  draws  blade  on  ar  shipmate  o'  mine.  Now 
mark  thet,  an'  bide  ther  licks  thet  foller." 

This  speech  induced  the  four  banded  ruffians  to  urge 
each  other  on  to  — "  Giv'  et  'im,  'tween  ther  ribs !  " 
They  were  four  good  sized  men,  armed  against  one  who 
innocently  sought  to  do  battle  with  a  pair  of  fists  the  size 
of  a  garden  squash.  These  villains  began  to  hedge 
around  Tom  as  if  to  assail  him  on  both  flanks  at  once. 
At  this  stage  of  affairs,  brave  old  Buntline  and  nimble 


End  of  the  Row.  93 

Nantucket  Jim  pushed  forward  to  the  front  to  join  sides 
with  Tom.  But  with  an  eloquent  look  of  heroism  lighting 
up  his  blue  eyes,  noble  old  Tom  bade  his  willing  ship 
mates  to  :  — 

"  Go  sot  down,  Ben  !  An'  all  you  uns  what  'ave  any 
'spect  fur  yer  ole  shipmate.  Lemme  boss  thes  'ere  job, 
ez  I'm  goin'  ter  keep  order  fur  ther  rest  uv  ther  voy'ge." 

It  took  Tom  less  than  four  minutes  to  add  four  other 
insensible  Portuguese  to  his  previous  underpining  of  two; 
making  six  burly  ruffians  heaped  up  together,  breathless 
as  dead  men. 

Walking  quietly  back  to  his  chest,  Tom  took  his  seat, 
and  resumed  his  pipe  ;  sending  some  of  the  men  on  deck 
to  call  down  the  other  four  Portuguese  in  the  larboard 
watch,  to  come  and  take  their  shipmates  up  into  the  air 
and  dress  their  wounds. 

Henceforth  quiet  old  Tom  Crawford  was  the  ruling 
mind  in  the  Fleetwing's  forecastle,  and  his  sway  was  ac 
knowledged  in  the  most  conclusive  logic  known  on  ship 
board. 

Each  of  the  old  seamen  usually  made  choice  of  a  young 
sailor  from  the  other  watch  to  occupy  his  berth  during  his 
deck-watch.  In  this  way  the  old  shellbacks  mated  with 
the  youngsters,  protecting  them  against  the  Portuguese, 
in  exchange  for  the  boys'  running  promptly  at  their  beck 
and  call. 

However  daintily  a  seagoing  youngster  may  have  been 
nurtured  at  home,  he  must  now  be  taught  to  drink,  smoke, 
and  swear  in  true  nautical  phrases ;  which  is  Jack's  chief 
process  of  concocting  a  sailor-man. 

The  young  chummy  must  run  to  the  galley  to  fetch  the 


94  The  Fleetwmg. 

lobscouse  and  pot  of  coffee  for  his  venerable  instructor,  in 
payment  for  being  taught  to  make  a  bowline  and  to  tuck 
a  Mathevv  Walker.  Jack  is  logical,  and  means  to  do  noth 
ing  for  a  greenhorn  without  adequate  equivalent.  The 
old  salt  is  a  vast  vocabulary  of  sea-terms,  and  the  young 
ster  is  a  crude  sponge  bent  upon  absorbing  all  the  briny 
things  which  fall  from  Jack's  lips. 

A  truly  noble  sailor  is  loved  and  venerated  by  his  ship 
mates.  Even  the  blustering,  swaggering  sea-lawyer,  like 
English  Bill,  shows  respect  to  such  a  leader,  and  dares  not 
air  his  mutinous  talk  before  such  a  marine  nobleman. 
One  such  seaman  in  the  forecastle  is  an  invaluable  safe 
guard  to  a  ship.  Tom  Crawford,  Ben  Buntline,  and  Nan- 
tucket  Jim  were  such  men,  and  the  Fleetwing's  little  oli 
garchy  below-stairs  stand  in  no  danger  of  either  Goth  or 
Vandal  invading  their  domain. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  SHIP  CAUGHT  IN  A  GALE. 

\  I J  HEN  Braybrook  came  out  to  take  charge  of  the  first 
night-watch,  every  sail  was  set  from  deck  to  truck ; 
all  drawing  with  tautened  leeches  and  arching  footropes. 
The  bowlines  were  eased  away,  and  the  weather-braces 
checked  in,  just  enough  to  take  a  little  list  out  of  the 
steep  incline  of  the  deck  ;  though  even  now,  whenever 
the  ship  sprung  her  luff  a  trifle  too  much,  and  bumped 
into  the  southern  swell,  the  water  would  swash  in  at  the 
lee  scuppers,  gurgling  like  a  sink  spout  in  finding  its  way 
out. 

The  heavy  head-swell  had  steadily  increased  during  the 
dog-watch,  and  now  the  forward  plunge  of  the  sharp  bow 
was  becoming  too  much  for  the  'longshore  stomachs  of 
the  green  hands.  Several  of  these  worthies,  more  be 
nevolent  than  their  fellows,  were  already  hobnobbing  with 
Davy  Jones,  gratuitously  feeding  his  fishes  with  the  half- 
digested  slops  from  their  own  bread-lockers. 

Even  the  ladies  in  the  cabin  had  again  taken  to  the 
same  charitable  doings,  at  the  instigation  of  Neptune, 
breaking  the  stowage  of  the  steward's  more  delectable 
dainties  with  no  better  grace  than  the  new  forecastle 
sailors.  The  man  at  the  helm  was  grinning  from  ear  to 

95 


g6  The  Fleetwing. 

ear  at  the  musical  grunts  and  groans  which  came  to  him, 
scented  with  camphor  and  cologne,  through  the  after 
cabin  windows. 

To  a  genuine  old  shellback,  the  first  lunge  of  the  ship 
to  a  deep-sea  roll,  tickles  his  fancy  and  renews  his  affec 
tion  for  the  sea.  The  reeling  deck  awakens  the  long- 
forgotten  instinct  of  his  crooked  sea-legs  the  instant  he  is 
afloat.  Tender  as  the  embrace  of  lovers  is  the  meeting 
of  Sailor-Jack  and  the  Sea,  after  a  long  absence,  and  bluff 
and  hearty  is  the  greeting  each  gives  the  other.  Well 
he  knows  the  great  contempt  old  Ocean  has  for  the 
spewing  spoonies  who  toss  their  lobscouse  about  on  the 
blue  sheen,  when  playful  winds  and  dancing  waves  are 
doing  their  best  to  enliven  the  beauty  of  the  sea. 

To  a  callow  sailor,  when  first  set  afloat  on  a  laboring 
sea,  the  uneven  deck  seems  intent  upon  rising  up  to  meet 
his  unsteady  feet,  at  every  backward  pitch  and  windward 
roll  of  the  ship.  Even  the  far  horizon  will  not  keep  down 
in  its  place,  but  is  ever  threatening  to  hop  up  and  bump  the 
head  of  the  deluded  novice,  whether  he  reels  forward  or 
staggers  aft  in  his  theatrical  perambulation  of  the  deck. 
If  the  greenhorn  ventures  to  look  away  from  the  dreadful 
sea,  the  towering  foremast  comes  pitching  backward  to 
ward  him,  as  if  it  would  certainly  tumble  upon  his  doomed 
head.  At  this  stage  of  the  farce,  brainal  anaemia  sets 
in  —  the  true  source  of  mal  de  mer.  Following  this  dizzy 
premonition,  the  blood  recedes  from  the  surface,  and  the 
heart  becomes  engorged ;  then  the  stomach  begins  to 
raise  Cain  —  rolling  and  tumbling,  spitting  and  spewing, 
endeavoring  to  pattern  after  the  wallowing  seas. 

When  Captain  Talbert  was  about  to  turn  in  for  the 


The  Dark  Night.  97 

night,  he  noticed  that  his  aneroid  was  falling,  indicating 
bad  weather.  With  an  anxious  look  upon  his  face,  he 
stepped  out  into  the  main  cabin  to  consult  the  mercurial 
barometer,  half  hoping  that  instrument  would  confute 
this  sudden  threat  of  a  storm.  The  mercury  was  found 
nearly  on  a  level  with  the  gauge,  yet  the  glittering  column 
was  deeply  indented,  having  a  cup-shaped  top  —  a  sure 
forerunner  of  a  quick  fall. 

Advising  both  of  the  ladies  to  retire  at  once  and  pre 
pare  for  the  worst,  the  captain  went  out  on  deck  for  an 
hour's  walk  with  Braybrook,  intent  upon  watching  the 
weather.  With  a  new  ship,  her  rigging  not  yet  fully 
stretched,  and  the  running-gear  full  of  kinks,  with  the  new 
hands  not  accustomed  to  their  work,  and  the  greenhorns 
babying  with  sea-sickness  and  whimpering  with  apprehen 
sion,  the  prospect  of  dealing  with  a  gale  was  not  pleasant 
to  contemplate. 

It  was  ten  o'clock  when  the  captain  left  the  cabin  and 
groped  his  way  out  into  the  gloom,  — for  the  night  had  shut 
down  dark  as  Egypt.  The  wind  was  slowly  dying  out,  yet 
it  still  held  fair  from  the  southwest.  The  pitch  and  roll  of 
the  ship  was  increasing  every  minute  with  the  growing 
southeast  swell.  The  sails  began  to  thump  and  thunder 
against  the  masts,  until  the  whole  fabric  shook  from 
truck  to  keel.  The  rudder  thrashed  and  groaned  like  a 
resurrected  ghost,  until  the  new  tiller-ropes  became 
slacked,  taxing  the  strength  of  the  helmsman  lest  he 
should  be  flung  over  the  wheel. 

For  half  an  hour  the  two  officers  walked  the  gloomy 
quarter-deck,  unable  to  see  each  other  in  the  blackness, 
speculating  in  ghostly  voices  upon  the  probable  direction 


98  The  Fleetwing. 

of  the  coming  storm,  in  which  time  the  barometer  was 
found  to  have  fallen  an  inch.  The  air  had  now  become 
close  and  oppressive  —  a  negative  condition  preluding 
great  atmospheric  disturbance.  Looking  aloft,  nothing 
could  be  distinguished  half  way  up  to  the  tops.  The 
sea  was  like  ink,  except  where  the  great  lumping  swell 
floundered  against  the  broadside  and  set  the  water  aflame 
with  phosphorescence  —  a  weird  mockery  of  light,  which 
does  not  illuminate  an  inch  beyond  your  nose. 

Sober  and  anxious,  the  captain  and  Braybrook  kept  up 
their  walk,  both  awed  by  the  terrible  suspense  impending 
over  the  ship.  The  voices  of  the  thoughtless,  hilarious 
men  on  the  forecastle  sounded  strange  and  out  of  place 
in  such  an  hour.  When  it  was  known  among  the  crew 
that  the  barometer  was  low,  and  falling  fast,  the  hews 
served  to  stop  their  jubulous  whistling  and  singing ;  the 
oldest  seamen  instantly  caught  the  ominous  threatening 
of  the  rising  undulation,  and  the  blinding  darkness  of  the 
night. 

After  again  inspecting  the  two  barometers,  Captain 
Talbert  came  out  and  spoke  in  low  tones  to  the  second 
mate,  evidently  expressing  his  increased  anxiety  about  the 
weather.  He  went  aft  and  looked  at  the  compass,  and 
listened,  closely  to  the  snarling,  spiteful  swash  of  the  great 
swells ;  which,  windless  as  it  was,  humped  themselves  up 
almost  like  wind-driven  billows,  and  came  so  near  to 
breaking  into  crests  that  they  made  a  gurgling,  sup 
pressed  noise,  like  the  choking  of  a  score  of  drowning 
men.  This  determined  the  captain  to  act  at  once,  and  he 
gave  his  orders  in  a  loud  voice :  — 

"Brail  up  the  foresail  and  mainsail !  Snug  them  up 
close  to  the  yards." 


Taking  in  Sail.  99 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir !  "  came  in  quick  response  from  Braybrook, 
and  he  in  turn  bellowed  to  the  men  :  — 

"  For'ard  there  !  gather  aft  and  brail  up  the  mainsail. 
Man  clew-garnets  and  buntlines.  Let  go  tack  and  sheet." 

Dark  as  it  was,  there  was  a  sufficient  leaven  of  sea-going 
men  among  the  watch  to  find  the  ropes  readily,  and  in  five 
minutes  the  great  sail  hung  in  the  brails. 

''  Belay  all  the  main  rigging.  Lay  for'ard,  and  up  with 
the  foresail." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir,"  answered  Nantucket  Jim,  the  worthy 
spokesman  of  the  starboard  watch,  who  led  the  chorus  in 
the  hoisting,  took  the  highest  hand-grip  on  the  halyards, 
clewlines,  or  reef-tackles. 

When  the  foresail  was  snugged,  Braybrook  so  reported 
to  the  captain,  and  received  his  further  orders  :  — 

"Haul  down  jib  and  flying  jib.  Clew  up  royals  and 
to'gans'ils,  and  furl  them.  Work  lively,  every  man  of 
you." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir,"  replied  Braybrook.  "  Mr.  Antoine,  keep 
a  few  hands  for'ard,  and  down  jibs,  and  clew  up  the  r'yal 
and  gansail.  Aft  here,  the  rest  of  the  watch.  Let  go 
r'yal  halyard  and  sheets,  and  clew  up.  Well !  To'gans'il 
halyard,  and  sheets  let  run,  and  man  the  rigging.  Belay ! 
Up  aloft,  'Tucket  an'  English  Bill,  an'  take  with  you  two 
greenies,  an'  furl  the  sails.  Aft  here,  the  rest  of  yer,  to 
the  mizzen  rigging,  an'  clew  up  r'yal  an'  'gans'il." 

A  half  hour's  labor  was  expended,  and  the  light  sails 
aloft  were  all  furled,  and  the  jibs  stowed.  That  done,  the 
fore  and  main  hatches  were  bared  down,  and  the  tar 
paulins  put  snugly  on,  making  ready  for  the  deck  to  be 
submerged.  When  the  watch  was  all  down  from  aloft,  the 


IOO  The  Flee  twins;. 

men  were  stationed  at  the  three  topsails  ;  the  halyards  were 
coiled  carefully  on  deck,  ready  to  be  let  go  by  the  run. 

With  the  exception  of  the  abrupt  fall  of  the  mercury, 
the  ugly  swell  rolling  in  from  the  southeast  gave  the  only 
indicated  direction  of  the  coming  gale.  Even  that  might 
be  only  the  after-swell  of  a  furious  cyclone,  a  thousand 
miles  away,  which  had  long  since  blown  itself  out.  On 
the  contrary,  it  was  the  joint  belief  of  the  most  weather- 
wise  on  board  that  a  terrific  gale  was  brewing  in  the 
southeast,  and  the  swell  was  deemed  a  true  forerunner  of 
what  was  coming. 

The  suspense  increased  with  every  moment's  delay  of 
the  wind.  The  rudder  continued  to  thrash  as  if  it  would 
be  torn  from  its  pintles;  and  a  second  time  the  slack 
wheel-ropes  had  to  be  tautened.  The  wind  had  fallen  to 
a  flat  calm.  The  ship  fell  off  into  the  deep  trough  of  the 
seas,  rolling  frightfully,  bringing  up  with  a  heavy  lurch, 
whenever  she  reached  her  bearing.  The  dread  uncer 
tainty  and  oppression  hung  like  a  pall  over  every  one. 
Something  dreadful  was  surely  impending  ;  and  a  frightful 
danger  was  evidently  very  near  at  hand.  All  felt  as  if 
they  could  not  be  kept  much  longer  in  suspense. 

As  an  outlet  to  his  growing  apprehensions,  Captain 
Talbert  now  gave  an  order  to  furl  the  mainsail  and  brail 
up  the  spanker,  as  the  latter  was  a  dangerous  sail  to  be 
caught  with,  though  much  needed  in  a  rolling  ?ea.  That 
done,  the  mizzentopsail  was  close-reefed,  hoisted,  and. 
braced  sharp  up.  Nothing  now  remained  on  the  ship  but 
the  two  broad  topsails,  canvas  which  must  be  kept  set  at 
all  hazard,  to  prevent  the  vessel  from  straining  her  masts 
by  rolling. 


All  Hands  Called.  101 

All  hands  were  now  hurriedly  called,  for  it  was  evident 
to  all  that  the  crisis  was  at  hand,  though  but  few  could 
tell  upon  what  they  grounded  their  belief.  But  it  was  a 
time  when  the  mental  part  of  man  seemed  suspended  in 
the  air,  nerved  up  like  a  bird  with  wings  extended,  ready 
for  flight. 

The  second  mate's  watch  was  concentrated  at  the  main- 
topsail  halyards,  reef-tackles,  and  clewlines,  under  Bray- 
brook's  own  eye.  Fast  as  the  larboard  watch  came  up, 
they  were  stationed  at  the  foretopsail  rigging,  by  the 
mate,  who  took  his  position  near  the  man  at  the  halyards, 
to  make  sure  they  were  let  run  the  instant  the  word  was 
given.  Captain  Talbert  took  his  station  at  the  binnacle, 
where  he  could  overlook  the  helm,  which  had  a  strong 
man  and  a  lusty  boy  tugging  at  the  jerking  wheel. 

Mrs.  Talbert  had  a  window  open  at  the  head  of  her 
berth,  where  she  could  receive  a  needed  word  of  assurance 
from  the  captain,  for  the  oppressive  atmosphere  had 
struck  inboard  as  well  as  out.  Miss  Allston  would  occa 
sionally  call  up  from  the  depths  of  the  lower  cabin  to  her 
companion  in  the  upper,  to  know  what  awful  thing  was 
going  to  happen.  Again  she  called  with  urgent  voice, 
asking  what  that  dreadful  thing  was  pounding  beneath 
her  berth,  as  if  it  would  break  in  the  ship's  bottom. 
When  told  that  it  was  the  rudder,  she  felt  ashamed  of  her 
idle  fears,  and  did  not  further  inquire  what  made  the  par 
titions  groan  and  the  carlines  creak,  like  cart-wheels  that 
needed  greasing. 

For  half  an  hour  all  hands  were  thus  kept  at  stations 
watching  for  what  had  not  yet  come.  One  by  one  the 
crew  let  go  the  ropes  and  crouched  in  a  drowsy  heap 


102  The  Fleetwing. 

under  the  bulwarks,  and  were  soon  sleeping,  oblivious  of 
the  threatened  danger. 

At  length  the  sharp  ear  of  the  mate  caught  a  low  moan 
ing  sound  far  away  in  the  southeast,  which  he  reported  to 
the  captain.  For  a  while  no  one  else  could  hear  it,  and 
precious  time  was  lost.  Soon  after,  a  low  rumble  became 
audible  to  every  ear,  which  quickly  increased  to  a  sullen 
roar,  followed  by  a  terrific  squall,  which  struck  the  ship 
abeam,  bursting  with  an  overwhelming  force  of  wind  and 
waves,  crushing  the  vessel  down  upon  her  broadside  in 
an  instant. 

Though  the  topsail  halyards  were  let  go  promptly  on 
the  order,  even  before  the  gale  struck,  yet  by  chance  the 
ship  was  careened  over  by  a  low  lee-lurch,  at  the  time, 
and  the  iron  parrels  jammed  on  the  masts,  and  the  yards 
would  not  come  down  to  the  caps.  Thirty  men  were  put 
on  to  reef-tackles  and  clewlines,  tugging  taway  like  mad 
men,  but  there  hung  the  yards,  cockbilled  by  the  wind,  at 
the  risk  of  losing  the  spars  and  the  sails. 

The  helrri  was  put  up  and  the  mizzentopsail  squared 
in,  endeavoring  to  run  the  ship  off  before  the  wind.  She 
would  only  pay  off  about  four  points,  take  the  bit  in  her 
teeth,  and  rush  madly  back  into  the  wind  again  ;  burying 
her  lee-bow  under  the  monstrous  seas  half-way  to  the 
mainmast,  until  the  men  to  leeward  had  to  spring  into  the 
rigging  and  climb  above  the  fair-leaders  for  security. 

The  situation  was  full  of  peril,  and  required  good  sea 
manship  to  extricate  the  ship.  The  sails  were  new  and 
strong,  but  the  yards  could  not  long  stand  such  strain. 
More  head-sail  must  be  set,  or  the  ship  would  not  pay  off. 
Order  was  passed  to  the  mate  to  set  the  foresail ;  first  try- 


Struck  by  the  Gale.  103 

ing  a  !ee  clew ;  and  if  that  would  not  do,  then  set  the 
whole  sail. 

The  foresheet  was  manned,  the  clew-garnet  and  lee 
buntlines  eased  carefully  away,  and  at  length,  a  goose- 
winged  foresail  was  set.  Again  the  helm  was  put  hard 
up,  and,  after  a  moment's  irresolution,  the  ship  payed  off 
before  the  wind,  the  yards  were  got  down  on  the  lifts,  and 
the  reef-tackles  were  hauled  up  two  blocks. 

The  men  were  then  ordered  aloft,  a  full  watch  upon 
each  yard,  and,  as  a  lull  came  just  then  in  the  gale,  the 
ship  was  brought  to  the  wind  without  shipping  a  sea. 
Before  the  hands  were  fairly  upon  the  yards,  the  gale 
piped  on  again,  listing  the  ship  over  until  the  lee  rail  lay 
level  with  the  frothy  sea.  It  was  a  test  of  true  courage 
for  the  seamen,  while  the  poor  green  hands  had  sufficient 
reason  to  be  appalled  by  what  appeared  certain  destruc 
tion  awaiting  them. 

In  the  bright,  brief  glares  of  lightning  which  lit  up  the 
ship,  the  black  figures  of  men  could  be  seen  clinging  to 
the  white  yards  with  the  grip  of  death.  The  thrashing 
canvas  ballooned  out  high  above  the  men  for  a  moment, 
and  then  beat  down  upon  the  yards  with  a  thundering 
crash,  endangering  the  heads  of  the  watch  at  every  blow. 

During  the  squalls  the  men  could  only  cling  for  their 
lives,  waiting  for  another  lull  in  the  gale.  The  boat-steer- 
ers  at  the  lee  earings,  sitting  astride  of  the  yards,  and  the 
reefers  on  the  lee  yard-arms  were  in  positions  full  of  peril ; 
and  nothing  but  the  top-lifts  prevented  the  former  from 
being  hurled  from  the  yard-end  into  the  sea,  with  every 
leeward  slat  of  the  sail. 

When  the  squall  again  abated,  quick  work  was  made  by 


IO4  The  Fleetwing. 

the  men  on  both  yards.  The  first  two  reefs  were  made  in 
one.  Then  a  close  reef  was  taken,  earings  hauled  taut 
and  reef-points  knotted,  the  best  that  time  would  permit 
in  the  howling  gale.  Gladly  the  overtaxed  men  crept  in 
from  the  yards,  and  worked  their  way  slowly  down  the 
dark  rigging,  jammed  hard  against  the  shrouds  by  the  re 
newed  force  of  the  wind. 

When  all  were  on  deck,  the  hazards  were  tautened, 
and  the  yards  braced  up.  The  goose-wing  of  the  foresail 
was  taken  in,  the  whole  sail  furled,  and  the  ship  made 
snug  fore  and  aft  for  any  emergency. 

All  of  the  first  and  an  hour  of  the  middle  watch  had 
gone  by  when  the  hard  tussle  of  the  reefing  was  over. 
Mr.  Bailey  took  charge  of  the  middle  watch,  while  Bray- 
brook  and  his  water-soaked  men  went  below  to  change 
their  clothes,  and  snatch  a  brief  sleep  from  the  three  re 
maining  hours  of  their  watch  below. 


CHAPTER   XL 

THE   TERRIFIED   AND    SEA-SICK    LADIES. 

\\  7HEN  the  Fleetwing  had  been  made  snug  alow  and 
aloft,  and  it  was  found  the  noble  vessel  weathered 
the  gale  easily,  Captain  Talbert  put  the  ship  in  charge  of 
Mr.  Bailey,  and  retired  to  the  cabin,  to  look  after  the  little 
family  within.  Mrs.  Talbert  was  found  desperately  sea 
sick,  and  had  been  badly  frightened  at  one  time  in  fear 
the  ship  was  going  to  pieces,  judging  from  the  fearful 
hubbub  without.  Having  been  compelled  to  close  her 
window  when  the  gale  struck,  the  lady  was  shut  off  from 
all  means  of  communication  with  her  husband,  while  his 
long  delay  on  deck  alarmed  her  lest  something  very  seri 
ous  had  happened. 

Miss  Allston  had  suffered  far  more  from  sea-sickness 
and  fright  than  Mrs.  Talbert.  Imprisoned  in  the  loneli 
ness  of  the  lower  cabin,  where  her  fears  were  augmented 
by  the  surrounding  gloom,  the  young  girl  had  received 
a  severe  mental  shock  in  addition  to  her  sea-sickness. 
When  the  gale  struck  the  ship,  a  deluge  of  sea-water 
burst  in  at  the  lee  stern  window  —  the  dead-light  not  being 
closed  —  and  dashed  with  terrible  force  across  the  transom, 
down  which  it  poured  in  a  cataract,  leading  the  already 
alarmed  girl  to  believe  the  ship  was  sinking,  and  that  all 
on  board  would  be  drowned. 

105 


io6  The  Fleetwing. 

Occupying  a  rather  elevated  weather  berth,  whose  berth- 
board  was  much  too  low  for  a  storm,  Miss  Allston  had 
barely  escaped  being  flung  headlong  out  at  the  first  dread 
ful  lee-lurch  of  the  stricken  ship.  Such  a  fall  would  have 
plunged  her  waist-deep  into  the  water  then  swashing 
about  in  the  lee-scuppers.  This  fright,  occurring  amidst 
the  unearthly  noise  of  creaking  timbers,  groaning  bulk 
heads,  howling  wind,  and  roaring  seas,  made  the  dismal 
place  seem  a  very  pandemonium  created  to  madden  her 
brain. 

In  this  dazed  state  of  mind  Miss  Allston  lay  two  long 
hours  before  help  came,  watching  the  hideous  black 
shadows  made  by  the  swinging  lamp,  whose  flame  flickered 
just  enough  to  people  the  gloom  with  moving  terrors. 
When  the  ship  was  recovering  from  a  frightful  forward 
pitch,  or  a  low-down  leeward  lurch,  then  the  wind-blown 
lamp  would  swing  quickly  back  toward  the  berth,  disclos 
ing  to  the  frenzied  girl  numerous  half-defined  monsters 
creeping  out  from  dark  crannies,  threatening  her  by 
menacing  gestures  as  they  stealthily  approached  the  berth, 
until  the  horrified  girl  would  cover  her  face  to  smother  her 
cries,  and  lie  trembling  with  fright,  possessed  with  the 
belief  that  she  was  to  be  seized  by  the  black  demons,  and 
flung  into  the  sea. 

As  Captain  Talbert  could  not  leave  his  wife  to  go  to  the 
assistance  of  the  lady  passenger,  it  fell  to  the  mate  —  his 
wet  clothes  having  been  changed  —  to  attend  the  sick 
girl  below.  Raymond  had  officiated  as  the  ship's  doctor 
on  the  previous  voyage,  being  gifted  with  a  natural  love 
for  medical  lore.  He  had  further  greatly  perfected  him 
self  during  the  past  three  months  at  home,  where  he  had 


The   Young  Medico.  107 

not  only  attended  a  full  course  of  medical  lectures,  but 
had  also  applied  himself  diligently  to  private  instruction, 
posting  on  Materia  Medica — with  a  view  to  specific 
medication — under  the  guidance  of  a  prominent  city 
physician  of  the  reformed  practice. 

There  was  now  an  urgent  call  both  for  prescriptions 
and  medical  attendance  upon  the  two  sick  ladies,  and  the 
young  medico  was  not  long  in  showing  that  he  was  equal 
to  the  emergency.  After  administering  a  cerebro-spinal 
remedy  to  Mrs.  Talbert,  whose  lower  brain  was  yet  the 
principal  seat  of  trouble,  and  having  advised  hand-friction 
to  the  spine,  followed  by  a  supine  position,  with  the  head 
low  —  to  overcome  the  brainal  anaemia — Raymond  left 
his  first  patient  in  charge  "of  the  captain,  with  the  positive 
assurance  that  she  would  be  all  right  and  asleep  within 
an  hour. 

Hastening  below  to  Miss  Allston,  who  had  already  been 
left  too  long  to  herself,  he  found  the  sick  girl  in  such  con 
dition  that  she  could  not  have  long  survived  without 
relief.  Her  stomach  had  been  greatly  strained  by  retching 
and  vomiting,  so  that  an  emesis  of  blood  was  induced, 
which  frightened  her,  coming  as  an  accessory  to  other  sur 
rounding  horrors. 

When  Raymond  approached  the  berth  of  the  half- 
dead  girl,  she  lay  cowering  with  terror ;  her  head  hidden 
from  view,  half  smothered  beneath  the  clothes.  She  was 
doubled  up  with  severe  pleurisy  pain,  probably  caused  by 
retching,  and  had  a  high  fever,  the  effect  of  her  all-per 
vading  fear  of  death.  Every  drop  of  the  wretched  girl's 
blood  had  receded  from  the  surface,  engorging  the  heart 
almost  to  suffocation,  leaving  her  deathly  pale,  as  seen  in 


io8  The  Fleetiving. 

the  dim  light,  and  quaking  audibly  with  the  deadly  ague 
of  fright. 

Horrified  at  the  sad  condition  in  which  he  found  the 
young  creature,  Raymond  endeavored  in  vain  to  break  the 
frenzied  clutch  of  her  one  hand  from  the  berth-board,  and 
of  the  other  from  the  bedclothes,  held  fast  over  her  half- 
stifled  head.  Not  until  he  spoke  to  her,  in  the  tenderest 
tones,  and  told  her  who  he  was,  and  for  what  purpose  he 
had  come  to  her,  would  the  terror-stricken  girl  disclose  her 
face.  Clutching  fast  to  Raymond's  hand  for  protection 
as  she  glanced  furtively  about  her,  Miss  Allston  looked 
gratefully  up  into  the  mate's  eyes  as  he  bent  over  her, 
bursting  into  hysterical  sobs  and  tears  when  assured  of 
safety. 

Well  might  her  young  heart  gladden  when  she  saw  Ray 
mond's  cheery  face  bending  tenderly  over  her  berth. 
The  sympathetic  tones  of  his  voice  acquired  a  charm  to 
her  in  that  moment  which  the  girl  would  never  forget. 
Besides,  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that  an  intelligent  sailor 
has  the  rare  faculty  of  making  a  woman  feel  instantly  at 
her  ease  in  his  presence ;  so  much  at  home  with  herself  in 
his  company  that  she  forgets  her  natural  feminine  constraint 
before  men.  This  psychologic  quality  of  a  noble  mariner 
begets  implicit  confidence  with  the  gentle  sex,  and  easily 
leads  to  mutual  admiration,  if  not  to  lasting  endearment. 

In  his  province  of  physician,  Raymond  was  quick  to 
perceive  the  imperative  call  for  aconite  in  each  and  all  of 
the  indicated  symptoms  of  the  almost  death-stricken  girl. 
He  administered  a  few  minute  doses  of  this  powerful 
herbal  medicament,  which  together  with  his  own  re-assur 
ing  presence,  soon  showed  a  beneficial  effect, 


The  Terrified  Girl.  109 

It  allayed  the  fever  and  the  unquenchable  thirst;  sub 
dued  the  pleurisy  without  the  aid  of  bryonia,  the  usual 
specific ;  quieted  her  apprehension,  and  gradually  restored 
her  to  an  almost  normal  circulation  again.  Her  sea-sick 
ness,  which  was  at  first  increased  by  a  moderate  fright, 
was  at  length  wholly  subdued  by  the  mental  shock  of  real 
terror. 

So  completely  dazed  was  the  young  girl  before  Ray 
mond  appeared,  that  every  sight  and  sound  about  her  took 
on  some  supernatural  aspect.  But  when  her  rescuer  came 
to  officiate  as  the  good  Samaritan,  pressing  her  aching 
temples  with  his  magnetic  fingers,  chafing  her  ice-cold 
hands,  and  soothing  away  her  fears  by  his  sympathetic 
tones,  the  whole  train  of  terrifying  evils  were  exorcised  as 
by  magic. 

The  girl  believed  every  word  which  Raymond  said  to 
her,  when  he  felt  it  necessary  to  declare  that  all  danger  to 
the  ship  had  passed ;  and  that  she  must  put  away  her 
fears,  trust  to  his  medical  skill,  and  suffer  him  to  soothe 
her  to  sleep,  as  the  only  anodyne  which  could  alleviate 
her  aching  heart  and  disordered  brain.  All  these  appeals 
were  appreciated  by  the  half-crazed  girl,  and  they  fell  on 
her  ear  like  a  mother's  lullaby  when  wooing  her  sick  child 
to  slumber. 

Finding  she  was  growing  drowsy  in  spite  of  herself, 
Miss  Allston  would  renew  her  effort  to  keep  awake ;  ap 
palled  at  the  thought  of  again  being  left  alone  with  the 
hideous  noises  made  by  the  laboring  ship,  and  in  the 
midst  of  darkness  so  peopled  with  stalking  shadows. 

Clinging  with  desperation  to  Raymond's  free  hand,  so 
that  he  could  not  steal  away  from  her  should  she  drop  to 


HO  The  Fleet^ving. 

sleep,  at  the  end  of  two  hour's  tussle  with  her  lingering 
terrors,  the  sick  girl  quieted  into  a  tranquil  state  and  slept 
soundly,  oblivious  of  all  the  wild  uproar  of  the  gale. 

The  aconite  had  acted  beautifully,  and  proved  the  best 
hypnotic  she  could  have  had.  In  fact  it  is  an  incontrover 
tible  axiom  in  medication  that  the  truly  indicated  remedy 
in  acute  diseases,  of  whatever  name  or  nature,  is  the  best 
possible  soporific  for  the  sick. 

For  another  long  hour  Raymond  clung  to  the  berth  mid 

%. 

the  tossing  of  the  storm,  watching  tenderly  over  the  sleep 
ing  girl,  who  was  often  startled  from  her  deepest  slumber 
by  the  noisy  jerks  of  the  wheel-rope,  whenever  an  ugly 
sea  came,  lunged  down  under  the  counter,  and  whanged 
away  at  the  rudder,  like  some  infuriated  monster. 

To  sleep  the  first  night  at  sea  is  usually  a  difficult 
matter.  Somnolence  is  then  crowded  so  full  of  night 
mare  visions  and  unearthly  noises,  that  even  a  sailor  can 
not  always  accomplish  the  task.  Thus  the  passive  rest  of 
this  gently  nurtured  girl  was  remarkable,  considering  that 
she  had  undergone  the  awful  crash  of  the  storm-lashed 
ship  lurching  to  her  beam-ends ;  the  deluge  pouring  in  at 
her  chamber  window,  imparting  the  dreadful  delusion  of  a 
sinking  ship ;  horrors  enough  to  disconcert  the  bravest. 

When  eight  bells  struck,  Raymond  quietly  disengaged 
his  hand  from  the  clasp  of  the  sleeping  girl,  and  stole  up 
into  the  cabin  to  see  what  was  needed  there.  Finding 
Mrs.  Talbert  sleeping  soundly,  he  went  out  on  the  storm- 
tossed  deck  to  exchange  a  word  with  Uncle  Joe,  whose 
men  were  gathered  about  him  under  the  hurricane-house, 
having  one  by  one  been  below  to  change  their  wet  gar 
ments. 


The  Wrecked  Spars.  1 1 1 

The  ship  was  making  good  weather  of  the  gale,  though 
the  seas  ran  high  and  the  wind  blew  hard.  Toward  the 
last  of  the  watch  the  gale  had  gradually  worked  around  to 
the  south,  blowing  harder  than  ever  for  a  while  ;  coming 
in  sharp,  shrieking  hail-squalls,  that  tuned  up  the  strained 
shrouds  and  backstays  into  gigantic  fiddle-strings.  This 
shift  of  wind  let  the  ship  head  up  nearly  square  into  the 
old  southeast  swell,  which  made  the  vessel  pitch  furiously 
for  a  time ;  though  it  was  too  dark  to  discover  whether 
anything  was  carried  away  or  not. 

So  passed  the  first  black  night  of  the  gale.  When 
Braybrook  came  out  to  take  his  morning  watch,  Raymond 
went  in  and  took  another  look  at  his  patients,  and,  finding 
them  sleeping,  turned  in  "  all  standing,"  ready  to  tumble 
out  again  at  a  moment's  notice  when  needed.  The  gale 
continued  veering  until  daylight,  by  which  time  it  had 
backened  fairly  round  into  the  west,  and  again  piped  on 
furiously  ^or  an  hour  ;  giving  the  ship  three  separate  run 
of  seas  to  battle  with. 

Morning  dawned  upon  a  desolate  wilderness  of  waters. 
The  starboard  watch  lay  crouched  under  the  weather-rail, 
seeking  shelter  from  the  cutting  wind  and  drenching 
spray.  At  the  first  outlook  over  the  deck,  it  was  discov 
ered  that  the  lee  bulwarks  were  much  sloven  forward,  and 
amidships,  where  the  monstrous  waves  had  found  their 
way  out,  after  mounting  over  the  weather-rail  and  rushing 
across  the  deck. 

With  further  accession  of  light  it  was  found  that  the 
flying  jib-boom  was  broken  short  off  at  the  boom-iron  ;  the 
sail  blown  from  the  gasket  and  torn  to  tatters ;  while  the 
martingale  stay  and  the  t\v>  jib-guys  hung  trailing  in  the 


112  The  Fleetwing. 

sea,  bleached  by  the  wash  of  the  turbulent  waters.  This 
mishap  to  the  boom  served  to  carry  away  the  fore  royal 
mast,  which  was  broken  short  off  at  the  eyes  of  the  rig 
ging  ;  and,  together  with  the  royal  yard,  hung  thrashing 
against  the  lee  shrouds.  Here  was  work  for  nimble  men 
aloft,  to  send  down  the  wreck ;  and  a  wet  job  for  others 
to  bowse  in  the  rigging  of  the  broken  boom. 

While  at  work  pulling  in  the  fly-jib  guys,  a  worse  disas 
ter  was  discovered.  The  outer  chain  bobstay  had  parted  ; 
which  greatly  endangered  the  massive  bowsprit  whenever 
the  ship  pitched  into  the  head-beat  seas.  As  the  vessel 
buried  her  bows  too  much  to  secure  her  bowsprit,  while 
on  a-wind,  the  helm  was  put  up  and  the  ship  kept  off 
before  the  gale.  After  much  trouble,  the  heavy  chain  bob- 
stay  was  fished  up,  and  secured  to  the  bowsprit  by  strong 
rope-lashings,  passed  round  the  spar  just  outside  of  the 
bowsprit  bees. 

The  wind  had  previously  hauled  until  the  ship  could 
now  steer  her  course,  with  the  gale  on  her  quarter.  Bray- 
brook  stepped  into  the  cabin  and  reported  the  change  to 
Captain  Talbert,  and  received  orders  to  set  a  reefed  fore 
sail,  and  head  the  ship  to  the  eastward,  as  near  on  her 
course  as  she  would  go  and  make  good  weather.  After 
the  foresail  had  been  reefed  and  set,  with  both  tacks  and 
sheets  bowsed  taut  while  yet  dead  before  it,  the  ship  was 
luffed  to  the  east-southeast;  this  brought  the  gale  two 
points  off  the  starboard  quarter,  and  set  the  vessel  racing 
like  a  bird  over  the  monstrous  seas. 

The  lumping  side-swells,  still  heaving  in  from  the  south, 
made  the  ship  roll  at  times  in  an  unseemly  manner:  often 
careening  until  her  lee  rail  lay  level  with  the  white  tops  of 


The  Welcome  Stm.  1 1 3 

the  racing  seas.  When  the  Fleetwing  was  thus  soused 
down  by  the  heavy  lee-lurches,  the  foresheet  dipped  in 
the  frothy  spume  of  the  waves,  and  the  chain-plates  were 
buried  until  the  lashed  waters  spurted  like  fountain-jets 
from  the  side. 

The  gale  held  strong  for  three  days,  and  the  sky  re 
mained  cold  and  gray  until  nearly  noon  of  the  second 
day  ;  then  the  welcome  sun  came  out  through  the  narrow 
rifts  in  the  clouds,  in  time  to  secure  observations  by  which 
to  determine  the  latitude  for  the  day  ;  and  at  length,  while 
the  watch  were  at  dinner,  the  remaining  storm-scud  blew 
away,  like  smoke  after  the  battle,  leaving  a  pale  blue  sky 
arched  timidly  over  the  storm-lashed  Ocean. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

PERSONALITY    OF    THE    LADY    PASSENGER. 

IN  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  of  the  gale,  when 
*  the  deck  became  dry,  and  the  scudding  ship  had 
steadied  down  her  frenzied  leaps  and  staggering  gait  —  so 
troublesome  for  the  best  sea-legs  to  encounter  —  the  ladies 
and  child,  assisted  by  the  captain  and  mate,  ventured  out 
from  the  damp  cabin  to  warm  themselves  in  the  sun. 
And  much  they  needed  the  cheering  light  of  day  and  the 
welcome  solar  beams  to  tint  their  pale  faces,  and  coax 
away  the  lurking  remnant  of  timidity  that  still  lingered 
about  them  both. 

The  courage  of  the  ladies  had  been  put  to  a  much  se 
verer  test  than  that  of  the  sailors,  who  were  permitted 
the  cheering  stimulus  of  personally  battling  with  the 
storm.  Deprive  a  person  of  the  moral  support  gained  by 
facing  a  peril,  and  you  inflict  the  added  horror  of  sus 
pense  to  his  apprehension  of  an  unknown,  because  un 
seen,  danger. 

Mrs.  Talbert  and  her  child  were  snuggled  together  in  a 
large  cane  chair,  secured  by  lashings  to  the  weather  side 
of  the  round-house,  where  the  bleached  rays  of  the 
afternoon  sun  could  bestow  his  constant  attention,  as  well 
as  the  thin  veil  of  cold  scuds  would  permit.  The  ship  was 

114 


Scudding  in  the  Gale.  1 1 5 

racing  along  on  the  tops  of  the  combing  seas,  making 
easy  work  of  keeping  the  tallest  crests  of  the  fiercest 
billows  from  slopping  over  the  quarter,  or  pooping  against 
the  stern.  But  so  monstrous  and  menacing  were  the 
larger  waves  as  they  chased  along  with  tigerish  ferocity  in 
the  wake  of  the  ship,  rearing  savagely  up  over  the  taffrail 
and  threatening  to  invade  the  quarter,-  that  well  might  the 
ladies  be  alarmed,  and  cover  their  faces  and  utter  girlish 
cries  of  terror,  though  they  soon  subdued  their  childish 
fears  and  enjoyed  the  scene. 

Miss  Allston  leaned  languidly  over  the  quarter  rail, 
carefully  supported  by  Raymond,  and  peered  thoughtfully 
down  into  the  sun-touched  water,  until  a  gleam  from  its 
iridescent  hues  tinted  her  pale  cheeks,  whilst  the  blue  of 
her  eyes  was  made  brighter  and  bluer  by  the  reflected 
azure  from  the  sea. 

The  excitement  of  thus  watching  the  ship  bowling  be 
fore  the  gale,  fleeing  from  the  whistling  wind,  and  racing 
along  with  the  mountain  billows,  awoke  the  slumbering  fire 
in  the  dull  eyes  of  the  convalescent  girl.  Mastering  her 
fears,  she  soon  became  amazed  and  amused  with  the 
ship's  frolicsome  capers,  as  she  watched  the  writhing 
coils  of  foaming  waters  sent  roaring  away  from  the  bows. 
The  strong  sunlight  on  the  crests  of  the  breaking  waves  was 
another  notable  sight  to  enliven  her  heart  when  she  saw 
the  wind-blown  froth  sprinkle  the  smooth  deep  hollow  of 
the  seas  with  silver  stars  of  dazzling  whiteness. 

The  ship  rolled  easily  on  the  long  curves  of  the  gigan 
tic  waves,  careening  just  enough  to  bury  her  lee  channels 
in  the  creaming  seas,  hurling  from  them  a  glittering  cata 
ract  of  foam  as  she  rose  with  a  quick  weather  lurch,  thus 


1 1 6  The  Flectiving. 

burying  her  channels  again  and  again,  as  if  in  playful 
pastime  with  the  blue  and  white  billows.  When,  in  her 
deeper  rolls,  the  ship  washed  down  to  her  planksheer,  the 
lee  scuppers  would  gurgle  and  splutter,  taking  in  a  pail 
ful  of  the  sparkling  foam-bubbles,  wetting  the  deck  for 
fathoms  around. 

As  Raymond  and  the  girl  thus  sat  confidingly  together 
by  the  quarter  rail,  looking  thoughtfully  out  over  the  tur 
bulent  ocean,  and  contemplating  its  frightful  mood  of 
wrath,  frequent  nervous  tremors  ran  quivering  through  the 
girl's  slender  frame  ;  brief  recurrences  of  past  apprehen 
sions  that  were  seared  into  her  memory  for  a  lifetime.  In 
such  moments  of  renewed  terror,  both  of  her  pretty 
hands  would  clutch  fast  upon  Raymond's  arm,  clinging  to 
the  strong,  manly  mate  with  a  sweet  confiding  look  in  her 
face,  implying  that  whatever  the  danger,  there  was  safety 
for  her  with  him  near  to  protect  her.  It  looked  as  if  the 
young  mate  was  fast  becoming  to  her  more  than  she 
knew  since  that  terrible  night  rescue,  so  frank  and  out 
spoken  were  her  words,  so  glowing  and  tender  were  her 
appealing  looks. 

The  girl  possessed  easy,  assured  manners,  yet  she  could 
be  reserved  and  dignified  if  she  wished,  and  often  was 
with  the  other  officers  when  occasion  required.  But  with 
Raymond  she  had  already  assumed  the  role  of  a  loving 
sister,  openly  worming  herself  into  his  confidence  with 
sweet  feminine  ways,  and  seeking  every  opportunity  to 
proffer  her  sympathy  in  his  love  affair  with  Mary  Tudor. 

How  such  delightful  companionship  as  this  was  to  end 
with  the  virile  young  mate,  time  alone  can  disclose.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  Raymond's  heart  was  sincerely  occu- 


Asenith  A  Us  ton.  117 

pied  with  another.  But  here  was  a  noble,  brilliant  girl, 
worth  a  shipload  of  his  puling  Mary  Tudors.  Was  Ray 
mond  sufficiently  blinded  to  Miss  Allston's  superior  qual 
ities  to  resist  her  fascination  during  a  long  sea-voyage  ? 
Who  can  tell  ? 

The  girl  was  not  capable  of  inducing  the  mate  to  break 
compact  with  his  beautiful  Mary  ;  for  she  was  as  pure- 
minded  and  full  of  noble  impulses  as  he.  Yet,  view  it 
as  we  will,  it  was  a  pitiable  situation  for  a  noble-minded 
man  to  be  thus  subjected  to  temptation,  bound  as  he  was 
by  the  hasty  covenant  of  love  in  an  unequal  match  ;  it 
must  surely  end  in  breaking  his  previous  bonds  with  Mary 
Tudor,  and  who  shall  be  blamed  ? 

Asenith  Allston  was  a  graceful,  delicately  built  girl  of 
twenty-two;  apt  and  intelligent  in  conversation  ;  pleasing, 
and  sprightly  in  her  manners.  A  susceptible,  warm-hearted 
creature,  ever  ready  to  lend  a  helping  hand  when  pressing 
need  required.  She  had  a  well  formed,  ideal  head,  sparsely 
crowned  with  soft  brown  hair ;  her  cheeks  were  tinted 
with  a  delicate  flush  of  peach-bloom,  which  imparted  a 
most  winsome  expression  to  her  animated  face.  Her 
blue-gray  eyes,  shaded  by  long  dark  lashes,  were  lustrous 
as  moonbeams  in  her  placid  moments ;  though  the  high- 
strung  girl  could  be  easily  aroused,  till  the  blue  would 
wholly  absorb  the  gray  in  her  flashing  orbs ;  then  a  light 
ning  ire  would  wither  the  assailant  who  dared  invade  her 
maiden  prerogative.  As  shrewd  old  Uncle  Joe  happily 
expressed  it :  — 

''  Golly  !  sah,  doan  yer  see,  dat  ar  gal  wul  mind  'er 
helm  ebbry  time  yer  touch  ar  spoke  ob  'er  wheel  ?  " 

Why  such  a  stylish,  attractive  girl  should  have  remained 


1 1 8  The  Fleetwing. 

unmarried  at  her  age  was,  indeed,  a  strange  anomaly,  — 
one  of  those  grave  physiological  problems  pertaining  to 
thousands  of  other  self-asserting  American  women.  She 
was  a  girl  certain  to  attract  universal  attention  in  the 
society  of  gentlemen,  because  of  her  sprightly,  sparkling 
ways.  Yet,  alas,  there  surely  was  some  grievous  fault, 
hidden  somewhere  in  the  veiled  arcanum  of  her  being, 
which  the  world  at  large  has  failed  to  comprehend.  A 
vital  lesion  of  the  nerve-centre,  from  some  previous  spinal 
hurt,  only  perceptible  to  the  few,  which  causes  the  intel 
lectual  faculties  to  dominate  the  more  feminine  qualities 
of  a  loving,  sensuous  temperament.  A  type  of  woman 
such  as  a  keen-eyed  physiognomist  can  readily  distinguish 
by  her  straight,  slender  nose,  her  thin  lips,  and  her  large, 
firm,  and  well  chiselled  mouth. 

To  all  outward  appearance,  Asenith  Allston  seemed 
most  admirably  modelled  to  attract,  entertain,  and  amuse 
the  opposite  sex ;  but  beyond  doubt  she  was  not  one  to 
easily  win  to  herself  lasting  endearments  from  a  gentle 
man, —  a  sad  misfortune,  which  shames  the  boasted  skill 
of  our  practitioners,  few  of  whom  understand  the  cause 
or  know  the  cure.  Yet  it  is  an  abnormal  condition  which 
a  skilled  physiologist  could  determine  at  sight,  by  the  thin, 
straight  eyebrows,  the  insufficient  growth  of  light  hair,  a 
lack  of  robust  physique,  and  the  absence  of  the  abashed, 
retiring  manners  of  true  feminality. 

Therefore  it  happens  that  such  vivacious,  keen-witted, 
self-possessed  girls  as  Miss  Allston  are  rightfully  deemed 
forward ;  and,  however  beautiful  and  attractive  they  may 
otherwise  be,  they  fail  not  to  overawe  men  of  less  assert 
ive  character  than  themselves;  as  most  men  have  an  ever- 


A  Woman 's  Foibles.  119 

haunting  fear  of  being  mated  witli  a  dominant-minded 
woman. 

Beautiful  and  entertaining  as  she  was,  it  remained  to  be 
seen  if  Asenith  Allston  could  withstand  the  severe  test  of 
a  sea-voyage,  the  place  of  all  others  to  expose  every  hu 
man  foible  a  girl  may  possess.  The  constant  attrition  of 
two  persons  on  shipboard,  daily  dependent  on  each  other 
for  social  pabulum,  held  face  to  face  till  each  becomes 
familiar  with  every  freckle  and  moth-patch  of  the  chosen 
companion,  is  a  severe  ordeal  for  any  woman,  with  her 
fastidious  notions  and  squeamish  lunar  moods. 

Yet,  per  contra,  if  a  woman  has  some  more  enduring 
quality  than  her  beauty,  some  more  winsome  charac 
teristic  than  her  piquant  tongue  to  offset  her  multitu 
dinous  hobbies,  then  a  sea-voyage  is  the  place  to  disclose 
her  feminine  attractions,  where  they  will  shine  like 
beacon-lights  midst  the  dreadful  monotony  of  shipboard. 

The  ladies  had  spent  three  hours  of  instructive  pastime 
on  deck,  in  becoming  familiarized  with  the  sublime  aspect 
of  a  pleasant  gale.  Nothing  could  so  readily  divest  their 
minds  of  the  lingering  apprehensions  still  clinging  to 
them,  as  watching  the  frolicsome,  fleet-winged  ship,  racing 
easily  before  the  gale,  seemingly  defying  the  utmost  efforts 
of  the  larger  seas  to  board  her,  or  sprinkle  the  sparkling 
spray  from  their  bursting  tops  as  they  exploded  with  an 
angry  roar. 

As  the  afternoon  drew  near  to  a  close,  the  gale  abated  a 
little,  and  the  tattered  cirrus  clouds  became  less  torn  and 
curled  at  their  extremities,  as  they  streaked  across  the  far 
upper  sky.  The  pleasant  sun-side  of  the  low-down  masses 
of  cumulus  had  been  gradually  expanding  to  the  growing 


1 20  The  Fleetwing. 

warmth  of  the  afternoon  sun,  until  the  western  side  of 
these  vast  cloud-masses  had  now  become  white  and 
fleecy  as  snow-drifts,  so  far  promising  that  the  whistling 
wind  would  soon  abate  its  turbulence.  But  there  are  two 
sides  to  the  clouds  to  be  judged  of  in  weather  prognostics. 
The  shady  side  of  these  low-flying  cumuli  still  remained 
dark  as  a  nimbus,  looking  ominous  with  wind  or  rain. 
The  squally  appearance  of  their  eastern  aspect  was  in  a 
measure  confirmed  by  the  surly  dirge-notes  of  the  storm- 
waves,  which  rose  spitefully  up  into  tall  crests,  spitting 
and  spuming  their  frothy  scum  with  the  snap  and  snarl  of 
fighting  cats. 

Though  much  of  the  lowering  appearance  of  the 
weather  was  due  to  the  low  sun  and  the  approach  of 
night,  yet  it  was  agreed,  even  before  the  barometer  began 
to  fall,  that  the  gale  was  about  to  increase,  or  the  wind  to 
shift  and  pipe  on  from  another  quarter.  This  made  it 
advisable  for  the  ladies  to  seek  their  berths  and  bottle  up 
a  few  hours  sleep  before  the  change,  and  at  the  captain's 
suggestion  they  were  escorted  to  the  cabin  and  admon 
ished  to  turn  in. 

Since  the  terrible  experience  of  the  first  night  of  the 
gale,  Raymond  had  put  up  a  bar  across  the  front  of  Miss 
Allston's  berth,  precluding  the  possibility  of  her  being 
thrown  out,  however  suddenly  the  ship  might  be  knocked 
down  in  a  gale.  The  young  lady  had  since  contrived  to 
sleep  fairly  well,  with  an  occasional  complaint  of  sore 
bones,  induced  by  the  lively  toss  and  tumble  of  the  Fleet- 
wing  in  her  mad  antics  when  throttled  by  the  rough  hands 
of  the  gale. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

CAPTURING   THE    FIRST   SPERM    WHALES. 

'"THE  Fleetwing  was  now  twelve  days  out,  and  was  fast 
approaching  Flores  and  Corvo,  two  outlying  islands 
of  the  Azores.  For  a  week  past  the  ship  had  been  steer 
ing  east,  looking  for  sperm  whales  along  the  southern  edge 
of  the  Gulf  Stream,  a  large  part  of  which  stream  contin 
ues  on  to  the  eastward  until  it  strikes  the  coast  of  Africa, 
thence  sweeps  south  to  the  equator,  from  whence  it  flows 
west  until  it  joins  the  parent  stream. 

The  very  innermost  curve  of  this  great  ocean  current 
circles  around  the  Azores,  which  makes  the  vicinity  of  the 
islands  a  favorite  feeding-ground  for  sperm  whales.  It 
was  this  southernmost  curve  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  which 
cast  ashore  the  Indian  arrows,  and  numerous  other  Amer 
ican  products,  upon  the  Azores,  and  induced  Columbus 
and  other  great  navigators  to  believe  that  the  Indies  lay 
not  far  away  to  the  west. 

The  so-called  "  Flores  Ground  "  is  about  three  degrees 
to  the  northwest  of  the  island,  in  the  latitude  of  40°,  lon 
gitude  33°,  and  thereabout.  Though  the  masthead  of  the 
Fleetwing  had  been  well  manned,  thus  far  the  lookouts  had 
seen  no  indications  of  whales.  Neither  porpoises,  black- 
fish,  nor  even  birds  had  been  seen  for  several  days,  as 

121 


1 22  TJie  Fleetiving. 

sufficient  inducement  for  the  ship  to  tarry.  Yet,  much 
to  the  surprise  of  the  officers,  Captain  Talbert  now  an 
nounced  his  determination  to  cruise  awhile  on  the  "  Flores 
Ground,"  hoping  to  obtain  a  good  catch  of  sperm  oil  to 
send  home  from  Fayal,  where  the  ship  would  touch  for 
the  purpose  of  shipping  four  or  five  hardy  young  fisher 
men,  to  increase  the  crew.  Just  why  the  captain  was  so 
sanguine  about  seeing  whale  on  such  a  dead-looking 
ground  none  could  tell.  If  the  wind  held  fair,  the  ship 
would  reach  the  Flores  ground  early  on  the  coming 
morning. 

During  Braybrook's  morning  watch  there  had  been  a 
current  report  wafted  through  the  ship  that  Uncle  Joe  said 
whales  would  soon  be  seen.  The  rumor  grew  to  such  pro 
portions  during  the  night-watch  that  before  seven  bells  it 
was  asserted  that  whales  were  to  be  seen  on  the  coming 
day.  Braybrook  had  ever  shown  great  contempt  for  Mr. 
Bailey's  so-called  prophetic  power;  but  curiosity  finally 
became  so  generally  aroused  throughout  the  ship  that 
the  steerage-boy  was  sent  down  to  wake  up  Hoogley, 
and  learn  from  him  if  there  was  any  foundation  for  the 
story. 

Hoogley  confirmed  the  report  to  this  extent :  during 
the  middle  watch  Mr.  Bailey  entertained  his  two  boat-steer- 
ers  with  what  John  Hoogley  supposed  to  be  a  vivid  dream 
about  seeing  sperm  whales,  and  put  it  in  Uncle  Joe's  own 
words  :  — 

"  Darfor,  brudders,  ef  I's  right,  dem  yare  ole  Sogs  wul 
pop  up  'bout  de  crack  o'  day,  an'  jes  gib  de  piecious  chil- 
un  time  ter  et  dar  breakfus'  'fore  we  lower  de  boats.  So 
.pray  de  gude  Lawd  whin  yer  go  to  bunk,  Jose,  to  ke'p  de 


Foretelling  Whales.  123 

sole  til  mornin'.  Fur,  chilun,  whin  Uncle  Joe  bin  seen 
de  whale  in  he  sleep,  he  allus  sez,  '  Now  I  lay  me,'  arter 
de  gude  dream.  An',  brudders,  I  spects  de  bressed  Lawd 
teks  it  kindly  ob  dis  yere  ole  niggar,  for  I  allus  feel  dat  I's 
been  lie  in  his  buzum  arter  dat  leedle  pray'r.  Why,  Hoog- 
ley,  dis  chile  lubs  the  Lawd  so  much  I  duzn't  tink  he  minds 
de  brack  on  dis  niggar." 

There  was  something  so  touching  in  the  Christian  pre 
cepts  of  the  pious  old  man  that,  whether  Braybrook  and 
other  scoffers  believed  in  his  power  of  prophecy  or  not, 
they  all  conceded  this  one  priceless  quality,  which  had 
already  gained  him  the  respect  of  all  on  board.  Uncle 
Joe's  faith  and  trust  in  the  Heavenly  Father  were  like  that 
of  a  little  child  casting  himself  on  the  bosom  of  the 
parent.  The  roughest  sailor  never  makes  light  of  genuine 
piety,  and  his  harshest  oaths  were  always  abbreviated  in 
the  presence  of  the  old  darkey.  Even  Cape  Verd  Jose  — 
the  fiercest  barbarian  on  board  —  was  often  seen  counting 
his  beads  with  awe  when  the  old  veteran  was  addressing 
him.  When  Bailey  was  asked  if  he  thought  it  possible  to 
redeem  such  a  reprobate,  his  reply  was  characteristic:  — 

"  Sure  nuf,  Jose  am  gut  ar  shinin'  sole  down  in  de  dark 
sumwhar.  An'  de  gude  Lawd  'spects  old  Uncle  Joe  ter 
find  it  fur  his  sake.  So  I's  kep'  fishin'  'mong  dat  ar  nig- 
gar's  in'ards  allers,  an'  de  blessed  Lawd  wul  bait  de  hook 
till  it  kotch  'im." 

At  daybreak,  when  the  mate  was  called  out,  Braybrook, 
in  a  vein  of  ridicule,  told  hirn  of  the  current  report 
coming  from  Mr.  Bailey.  Without  placing  very  much 
reliance  on  the  prescience  of  Uncle  Joe,  the  mate,  being 
of  a  more  sanguine  temperament,  let  the  story  grow  upon 


1 24  The  Fleetwing. 

him  as  he  walked  the  deck,  until  he  suddenly  ordered  the 
mastheads  double-manned.  And  finally  the  fascination  of 
the  story  became  so  great  that  Raymond  himself  caught 
up  the  spyglass  and  went  aloft,  to  stay  until  breakfast- 
time. 

Eight  bells  struck,  and  the  larboard  watch  were  called 
out,  and  the  whales  had  not  yet  made  their  appearance. 
Raymond  came  down  from  aloft,  and,  without  making 
talk  with  any  one,  slipped  in  to  breakfast,  evidently  a  .little 
ashamed  of  the  enthusiasm  he  had  shown.  Meeting  Mr. 
Bailey  coming  from  his  state-room,  the  mate  asked  :  — 

"  Is  it  true  that  you  have  promised  whales  for  to-day  ?  " 

"  Yis,  Misser  Raymon',  de  ole  sogs  am  down  off  de  lee 
bow  sumwhar.  Jis  et  yer  breakfas',  sah,  an'  let  de  boys 
hab  dar  lobscouse  an'  coffee  ;  an'  'fore  yer  can  git  in  de 
lines  de  'parm  whales  wul  be  cumin',  sartin  sure,  sar." 

There  was  a  tender  tone  in  the  old  man's  voice,  and  a 
pleading  lustre  in  his  one  soft  eye  which  Raymond  likened 
to  the  look  of  a  hungry  deer  when  approached  with 
food. 

During  breakfast,  Captain  Talbert  asked  Uncle  Joe 
what  was  up,  and  was  told  that  he  had  done  a  heap  of 
whaling  in  his  dreams  of  the  first  watch.  Mrs.  Talbert 
remarked  that  she  feared  he  didn't  sleep  very  much  in  his 
last  watch,  if  he  was  anticipating  whales. 

"  Suthin'  better  dan  sleep,  leddy.  De  Lawd  am  bin 
wid  us  ternite,  an'  de  bressed  Farder  wul  hole  us  in  de 
holler  ob  de  hand  terday." 

"  What'll  yer  bet  'bout  seeing  whales,  Mr.  Bailey  ? " 
asked  the  skeptical  Braybrook,  with  a  sneer  on  his  lip. 

"Ah,  Misser  Braybruck,  dis  chile  would  bet  yer  all  de 


There  She  Breaches  !  125 

ole  shoes  he  hab,  'gin  yer  old  boots,  sah ;  but  it  wouldn't 
be  fa'r  ter  cheat  yer,  whin  I's  bin  done  kno'  fur  sartin." 

"  I'll  believe  it  when  I  see  um,  and  not  till  then,"  con 
tinued  the  second  mate,  as  he  crammed  in  the  hash  and 
^oft  tack,  rather  hurriedly  for  a  disbeliever. 

Just  at  that  moment  a  clear,  shrill  voice  came  ringing 
down  from  the  masthead  :  — 

"  There  she  breaches  !     There's  white  water !     Blows  ! 

—  blows  !  —  blo-o-o-w-s  !  "  cries  that  were  like  bugle  blasts 

to  every   one   on  board,  bringing   forth   the  people  from 

cabin,  steerage,  and  forecastle,  eager  to  learn  what  kind 

of  whales  were  in  sight. 

"  Where  away  are  they  ? "  shouted  the  captain,  who, 
together  with  the  mate  and  two  other  officers,  had  sprung 
from  his  seat  and  run  on  deck  at  the  first  shout  of  the 
lookout. 

"  Four  points  off  the  lee  bow,  sir  ?  " 

"  How  far  off  ?  " 

"  Three  miles  off,  sir.  A  school  of  large  sperm  whales, 
heading  to  leeward." 

"  Sing  out  every  time  you  see  'em." 

"  There  she  blows  !  There  blows  !  blows  —  blows. 
Going  very  slowly  dead  afore  the  wind." 

"  Mr.  Raymond,  get  up  the  hands,  put  the  lines  in  the 
boats,  and  see  all  ready  for  lowering."  And  the  captain 
took  a  spyglass  from  its  bracket  in  the  vestibule,  seized 
the  fore-swifter,  sprang  on  to  the  rail,  and  went  aloft  fast 
as  his  legs  would  take  him. 

The  lookouts  were  sent  down  to  their  breakfast,  and  the 
ship  was  run  off  with  the  after  yards  squared  in.  The 
four  boats  were  got  ready  for  a  tussle.  Irons,  oars,  sails, 


126  The  Fleetwing. 

and  paddles  were  carefully  inspected  by  the  officers  of 
each  boat.  The  shieves  in  the  davit-heads,  and  the 
tackle-blocks  were  freshly  oiled,  that  a  squeaking  block 
should  not  frighten  off  a  five-thousand-dollar  whale,  as 
had  happened  before.  Tackle-falls  were  coiled  carefully 
down  on  deck  in  Flemish  coil.  The  boat-kegs  were 
freshly  filled  with  drinking-water  from  the  scuttle-butt, 
and  a  canvas  bag  of  hardtack  tucked  under  the  stern- 
sheets  for  refreshment,  in  case  the  boats  were  a  long  time 
off,  as  an  all-night  job  often  awaits  a  crew. 

While  this  was  being  done,  the  whales  had  gone  down, 
and  the  captain  called  out  to  know  the  exact  time  of  their 
sounding.  It  now  required  good  judgment  not  to  over 
run  the  school,  for  if  the  whales  were  too  near  the  ship 
when  they  came  up  they  would  be  gallied,  and  take  to 
their  heels  at  full  speed.  After  a  run  of  about  two  miles, 
the  ship  was  luffed  to,  with  the  main  yards  aback.  Offi 
cers  and  men  now  climbed  into  the  rigging  to  help  watch 
for  the  coming  whales. 

Time  passed  slowly.  It  was  nearly  an  hour  since  the 
school  went  down.  Suspense,  and  a  touch  of  impatience, 
could  be  seen  in  every  face.  It  was  becoming  an  anxious 
moment,  in  fear  lest  the  ship  had  runoff  too  far.  Specula 
tions  of  that  kind  were  being  discussed  in  low  voices,  by 
one  and  another,  when  Captain  Talbert's  voice  was  heard 
hailing  the  deck  softly  :  — 

"  There  they  are !  There  they  are !  A  big  school. 
Every  head  gray  as  the  rock  o'  Donda.  Hoist  and  swing 
the  boats ! " 

With  whispering  voices  the  orders  were  given.  The 
gripes  were  cast  loose,  and  the  cranes  were  swung  from 


Lowering  for  Whales.  127 

under  the  boats.  The  officers  took  their  places  in  the 
stern-sheets  of  their  boats,  and  the  boat-steerers  in  the 
bows,  while  the  men  took  their  stations  on  the  main  rail 
and  the  outside  slide-boards,  each  man  as  near  to  his  oar 
as  he  could  get.  The  ladies  were  seated  at  the  taffrail, 
near  the  mate's  boat ;  Miss  Allston  looking  with  pride 
and  pleasure  on  Raymond's  preparations  as  he  made 
ready  to  tackle  the  great  whales. 

After  a  good  deliberate  look  at  the  school,  the  captain 
came  down  from  aloft,  explained  to  the  officers  the  course 
the  whales  were  heading,  and  about  how  fast  they  were 
going ;  and  then  bade  them  lower  away  carefully,  spread 
out  a  quarter  of  a  mile  apart,  and  run  off  to  leeward,  under 
sail ;  and  not  to  make  use  of  oars  or  paddles. 

Waiting  by  courtesy  for  the  captain  to  kiss  Mrs.  Tal- 
bert  and  the  child,  and  to  lower  the  first  boat,  the  three 
larboard  boats  dropped  quietly  into  the  water  together. 
Masts  were  stepped  through  the  bow  thwarts,  and  sails 
set.  Oars  were  got  out  and  peaked,  with  a  feather 
ing  edge  forward,  and  in  three  minutes  the  four  dancing 
boats  were  heading  for  the  whales,  whose  pearly  white 
spouts  were  seen  wafting  over  the  sea-tops  before  the 
gentle  morning  breeze. 

Raymond  took  his  station  out  on  the  quarter,  to  the 
right  of  the  captain,  who  had  the  central  position,  to  wind 
ward  of  the  school.  Braybrook  ran  his  boat  out  on  the 
lee  bow,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  off,  until  the  three  boats  were 
ranged  in  a  line.  To  the  surprise  of  all,  Uncle  Joe  took 
position  to  windward,  directly  astern  of  the  captain,  which 
would  debar  him  from  an  equal  chance  for  a  whale. 

No  one  but  Mrs.  Talbert  knew  whv  the  renowned  old 


128  The  Fleet  wing: 

whaleman  should  thus  keep  aloof  from  the  pending  attack 
on  the  leviathans.  The  anxious,  loving  wife  had  said  to 
Mr.  Bailey  before  he  left  the  cabin  that  morning :  — 

"  Take  good  care  of  my  husband  to-day,  will  you,  Mr. 
Bailey  ? " 

"  Bress  yer  sole,  leddy,  de  Lawd  am  wid  us  terday ! 
Trus'  'im  to  de  Farder,  missus,  an'  nuffin  shall  harm  de 
cap'n."  And  the  old  man's  face  beamed  through  and 
through  with  the  divine  inspiration  which  possessed  him. 

"  But  if  you  will  promise  to  keep  near  him,  good  old 
Uncle  J6e,  I  shall  feel  so  much  better  about  it.  Won't 
you  promise  me  that  ?  " 

"  Yis'm,  if  yer  feel  dat  way  'bout  it ;  dis  chile  wul  lend 
ar  han'  ter  de  gude  Lawd,  to  help  tek  care  ob  de  cap'n." 

"  Thank  you  ever  so  much,  Mr.  Bailey.  And  I  will 
pray  God  to  hold  you  all  in  his  keeping  to-day." 

"  Dat's  um,  missus  !  Dat's  de  p'int  ter  belay  yer  tacks 
to."  And  the  tears  streamed  down  the  old  man's  face,  as 
his  heart  went  forth  to  the  prayerful  wife.  The  intuitive 
young  creature  had  foreseen  the  fierce  spirit  of  emulation 
and  rivalry  between  the  first  and  second  mates,  and  well 
she  knew  that  both  men  would  be  more  concerned  about 
their  own  whaling  than  that  of  others. 

The  boats  sped  on  before  the  wind  until  they  approached 
within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  nearest  whales;  then 
some,  of  the  school  began  to  turn  flukes  and  go  down. 
Captain  Talbert  instantly  rounded  to :  and  at  a  signal 
from  him  the  other  boats  luffed  to  the  wind,  eased  off 
their  sheets,  and  lay  drifting,  waiting  for  another  rising  of 
the  whales. 

As  the  four  boats  lay  there,  rising  and  falling  to  the 


'Ike  Whales  Sounding.  129 

gentle  seas,  the  captain  playfully  answered  the  signals  of 
his  wife  and  Miss  Allston,  who  had  mounted  to  the  top  of 
the  cabin,  and,  with  their  spyglasses  in  hand,  were  now 
amusing  themselves  fluttering  their  handkerchiefs  to  the 
boats. 

Raymond  did  not  deign  to  notice  that  one  of  the  signals 
was  possibly  meant  for  him ;  but  he  went  forward,  and 
carefully  looked  over  his  whaling  gear,  with  a  quiet  word 
of  advice  to  Hoogley,  the  boat-steerer :  bidding  him  draw 
the  running  bowline  of  his  short  warp  a  little  tighter;  saw 
that  the  box-line  was  coiled  clear,  the  chock-pin  well  in  ; 
and  bade  Hoogley  brace  himself  in  the  clumsy  cleat,  —  as 
he  would  in  the  act  of  darting,  —  to  become  familiar  with 
his  foot-brace,  behind,  for  either  a  right  or  a  left-handed 
dart ;  asked  to  see  this  man,  who  was  to  be  his  chief  reli 
ance  in  many  a  tussle  of  life  and  death,  grasp  his  irons 
quickly,  to  accustom  himself  to  seize  them  at  just  the  right 
point  of  balance,  for  instant  use. 

Mr.  Braybrook,  on  the  contrary,  having  his  boat-steerer 
of  the  last  voyage,  took  no  thought  of  the  kind ;  for 
Morey  was  a  careful,  experienced  man,  and  would  do  all 
that  the  occasion  required.  So  both  Braybrook  and 
Morey  got  out  their  pipes,  loaded  and  lit  them,  and  lolled 
comfortably  down  at  their  respective  ends  of  the  boat ; 
prepared  to  pass  away  the  hour  pleasantly,  while  the 
whales  were  down  below,  feeding  in  the  blue  pastures  of 
the  sea. 

At  the  end  of  fifty-five  minutes,  a  single  whale  came  up, 
half  a  mile  away  to  leeward ;  and  in  an  instant  the  two 
mates  were  heading  their  boats  off  after  him.  But  Cap 
tain  Talbert  motioned  them  with  his  hand  to  heave  to 


130  Tlic  I'lcctwing. 

again,  and  lie  quiet  until  the  whole  body  of  whales  came 
up  and  had  time  to  listen,  and  satisfy  themselves  that  no 
danger  was  near  :  for  a  whale  has  very  acute  hearing,  and 
is  as  easily  startled  as  a  deer. 

It  proved  that  Captain  Talbert  was  right  in  his  caution, 
for  soon  after  the  full  hour  was  ended  the  whole  school 
came  up  in  two  great  bodies,  some  of  which  were  close 
under  the  lee  of  the  captain  and  mate,  not  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  off.  Thus  the  school  might  have  been 
gallied  had  the  over-eager  officers  kept  on  their  course  ; 
for  listening  time  must  be  given  a  whale  after  sounding. 

At  a  signal  from  the  captain  the  four  boats  swung  off 
before  the  wind,  with  flowing  sheets,  all  heading  for  the 
whales  together.  Fifty  large  whales,  in  two  separate 
bodies,  were  spread  over  a  mile  of  blue  sea.  It  was  a 
grand  sight  to  see  the  mammoth  creatures  swimming  side 
by  side,  heading  slowly  off  to  leeward,  wholly  unconscious 
of  the  dread  whale-hunters  now  close  upon  their  track. 

At  first  the  mate  seemed  to  be  a  little  the  nearest  to  the 
whales.  But  as  the  three  boats  sped  cautiously  along 
and  drew  very  near  to  the  school,  it  proved  that  the 
captain's  boat  was  quite  as  near  as  Raymond's.  When 
these  two  leading  boats  approached  within  three  spout- 
ings  of  their  respective  whales,  in  the  separate  pods,  Mr. 
Antoine  and  John  Hoogley  were  ordered  to  stand  up  and 
take  their  irons.  Both  boat-steerers  were  seen  deftly 
balancing  their  keen  weapons,  bracing  the  right  foot  back 
against  the  harponier  thwart,  coolly  waiting  for  the  time 
to  dart. 

The  whales  came  to  the  surface  again  quietly  spouting 
in  unison  with  each  other,  sogging  off  before  the  wind 


Harpooning  the  Whales.  13 1 

without  a  thought  of  danger.  Numerous  sea-birds  were 
hovering  along  over  the  great  leviathans,  as  the  whales 
knew  best  how  to  follow  in  the  currents  of  food-track. 
Many  blue-hided  sharks  were  seen  in  the  wake  of  the 
whales,  intent  upon  what  the  dyspeptic  beasts  might 
cast  out  upon  the  sea  —  as  pieces  of  half-masticated 
squid,  big  as  a  barrel,  were  not  an  unusual  sight. 

The  crews  were  now  ordered  to  take  their  oars  in  hand, 
and  be  ready  for  action.  Orders  were  given  in  hoarse 
whispers,  and  every  movement  was  made  with  care  ;  as  a 
boat's  bottom  is  a  sounding-board,  and  the  least  thump 
of  an  oar  would  sound  along  the  waves  and  startle  the 
prey. 

It  was  a  breathless  moment  for  all  in  the  two  leading 
boats,  while  waiting  for  yet  one  more  spouting  to  bring 
the  whales  within  easy  dart.  The  whales  seemed  to 
linger  a  trifle  longer  than  usual  between  their  spoutings, 
but  then  time  lingers  in  such  moments  of  suspense.  Was 
it  possible  that  they  had  heard  something,  and  would  not 
come  to  the  surface  again  ?  No.  There  they  whiten  ! 
There  they  turn  the  blue  sea  to  a  pale  g  een  above  their 
huge  backs.  There  they  thrust  up  their  vast  heads, 
spouting  as  deliberately  as  ever,  just  as  the  boats  double 
round  the  starboard  corner  of  their  flukes  —  for  a  right- 
hand  dart  —  gliding  quickly  forward  of  the  humps.  Then 
came  the  orders  at  the  same  instant,  and  both  boat-steerers 
let  fly  their  irons  together,  driving  the  keen  barbs  deep 
into  the  uprising  bilge  of  the  monsters. 

Twenty  whales  let  fly  their  mighty  flukes  at  the  prick 
of  the  first  harpoons,  as  if  all  had  been  struck  together  — 
so  quickly  can  one  whale  communicate  with  another  in 


132  The  Flcctii'iiig. 

a  moment  of  fright.  But  while  the  forty-eight  unharmed 
whales  went  plunging  into  the  lower  depths,  the  two  fast 
ones  continued  thrashing  the  sea  into  monuments  of  foam, 
half  burying  the  boats  in  the  descending  spray. 

After  a  few  vigorous  blows  with  his  flukes,  Captain 
Talbert's  whale  rolled  quickly  over  and  cut  out  his 
twenty-foot  jaw,  thrashing  it  from  side  to  side,  as  he  felt 
vigorously  about  for  a  tender  morsel,  upon  which  to  whet 
his  rage.  Foiled  by  the  alert  boat  which  was  sterned 
quickly  out  of  his  reach,  by  jaw  or  tail,  the  enraged 
creature  5wept  round  in  a  complete  circle  for  his  assailant, 
then  pitched  and  went  down  for  a  deep  sound,  running 
out  the  line  so  fast  that  it  set  the  oaken  loggerhead  to 
smoking  as  if  it  were  on  fire. 

As  the  school  had  disappeared  on  the  instant,  showing 
no  chance  for  the  loose  boats  to  assail  them,  Braybrook 
and  Bailey  were  expected  to  go  to  the  assistance  of  the 
fast  boats.  The  second  mate  went  to  help  the  mate, 
willing  or  otherwise,  whatever  his  motive  might  be  ;  un 
doubtedly  meaning  to  show  his  junior  in  years  and  expe 
rience  the  proper  way  to  kill  a  sperm  whale. 

Mr.  Bailey  had  rolled  up  his  sail  before  the  captain 
struck,  to  be  ready  for  instant  service  in  case  of  a  stoven 
boat.  He  now  pulled  down  to  the  starboard  boat  to 
tender  his  line  to  the  captain,  if  it  should  be  needed. 
And  he  was  none  too  soon.  The  whale  was  making  a 
rapid,  vertical  sound,  taking  out  the  captain's  line  so 
quickly,  that  his  three  hundred  fathoms  threatened  to  be 
gone  before  Uncle  Joe  could  reach  the  starboard  boat. 

Just  in  the  nick  of  time  the  bow  boat's  line  was  thrown 
to  the  captain  who  knotted  it  to  his  own,  ten  seconds 


TJic  Sounding  \VJiale.  133 

before  the  eye-splice  came  humming  round  the  logger 
head,  and  with  a  whang  went  out  through  the  chocks, 
breaking  the  chock-pin  in  its  haste.  So  the  fleeing 
whale  had  another  three  hundred  fathoms  of  line  to  tug 
at.  Still  downward  the  monster  plunged  until  there  were 
but  fifty  fathoms  of  the  bow-boat's  line  remaining  in  the 
tub. 

At  this  crisis  Uncle  Joe  ordered  every  man  into  the 
stern-sheets,  to  keep  the  bow  from  burying.  Taking 
control  of  the  line  himself,  the  old  veteran  served  the 
loggerhead  with  more  turns,  until  the  tense  new  line  was 
stretched  to  half  its  former  size.  The  big  Dutchman  had 
been  kept  on  his  own  thwart  to  trim  boat,  and  he  was 
now  prompted  to  starboard,  or  port,  as  the  strained 
cockle-shell  of  a  boat  dipped  toward  the  one  gunwale  or 
the  other.  The  line  had  now  become  taut  as  a  fiddle- 
string,  vibrating  with  an  occasional  twang  that  shook  the 
boat,  caused  by  the  blows  of  the  angry  whale  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  down  under  the  sea. 

Captain  Talbert  stood  near  by  in  his  boat,  anxiously 
watching  every  movement  in  the  bow-boat ;  frequently 
inquiring  what  amount  of  line  remained  in  the  tub,  but 
leaving  the  management  to  Mr.  Bailey,  well  knowing  that 
the  experienced  old  whaleman  would  do  the  best  that 
could  be  done. 

Owing  to  some  more  desperate  lunges  of  the  thrashing 
whale  far  down,  the  bow  of  the  fast  boat  now  began  to 
surge  under  water,  dipping  up  a  barrel  at  a  time.  This 
new  movement  of  the  whale  compelled  Uncle  Joe  to 
frequently  slack  on  his  line,  just  enough  to  bring  the  bow 
of  the  boat  up  to  the  surface  again.  In  this  way  flake 


134  fhc  Fleetwing. 

after  flake  ran  out  of  the  line-tub,  until  the  old  man  held 
the  eye-splice  at  the  end  of  the  line  in  his  hand.  It  was 
then  that  Uncle  Joe  showed  the  genious  of  the  whaleman, 
as  he  called  on  the  captain  for  help  :  — 

"  Golly,  sah,  one  mo'  dip  under  like  dat  ar  an'  we  uns 
am  dun  fo'.  Now,  cap'n,  len'  ar  hand,  an'  we'll  puzzle 
dat  ole  'parm  whale." 

"  How  can  I  help  you,  Mr.  Bailey  ?  " 

"  Cum  heah,  head  an'  head  wid  us  uns,  sah.  Butt  de 
nose  ob  yer  boat  'gin  my  boat.  Clove  hitch  yer  short 
wa|p  on  de  line,  low  down.  Den  pile  de  boys  all  in  de 
starn-sheets,  an'  tek  ar  strain  on  de  line.  Queak,  sah, 
befo'  we  uns  fill  de  boat,  an'  hab  ter  leggo  de  tarnal 
critter." 

Quick  as  a  flash  Captain  Talbert  caught  the  ingenuity 
of  the  device,  and  did  as  he  was  requested.  When  the 
plan  was  completed,  and  the  two  boats  took  an  equal 
strain  on  the  line,  Mr.  Bailey's  boat  was  nearly  full  of 
water,  and  would  have  filled  in  a  moment  more.  Hands 
were  now  set  to  bailing,  and  the  bow-boat  was  soon  got 
free,  and  took  the  chief  strain  again. 

"  What's  he  up  to  now,  Mr.  Bailey  ?  "  asked  the  cap 
tain,  hearing  some  new  tune  twanged  on  the  line. 

"  Dis  chile  link  de  ole  critter  am  dancin'  de  hornpipe, 
sah.  Doan  yer  heah  de  line  trum,  trum,  like  Tom  Crow's 
banjo,  up  to-  Bedford  ? " 

But  it  was  not  long  before  the  fighting  whale  tired  of 
battling  with  the  sea  under  such  a  stupendous  pressure  of 
water ;  and,  after  a  brief  time  of  quiet,  something  new 
seemed  to  be  going  on  below-stairs,  and  the  captain 
again  hailed  Uncle  Joe  :  — 


Spouting  Blood.  135 

"Well,  what's  the  fellow  doing  down  there  now,  Mr. 
Bailey  ?  " 

"  Him  cumin'  up  now,  sah,  ez  any  'spectable  whale 
orter  dun  fo'  dis  time.  De  line  trem'les  dreffly ;  \vid  ar 
buz,  buz,  like  it  am  cuttin'  frough  de  water  down  dar 
awful  queak.  Git  out  de  lance,  cap'n,  for  de  ole  sog 
wul  soon  cum  up,  an'  he'll  lay  still  ez  ar  de'd  niggar." 

Sure  enough,  the  yet  taut  line  was  trembling  visibly, 
with  a  ceaseless,  rhythmic,  humming  sound,  very  different 
from  the  harsh  twanging,  vibrating  noises  of  a  sounding 
whale.  Soon  the  line  began  to  slack,  and  it  became  evi 
dent  to  all  that  the  maddened  whale  had  done  his  worst, 
and  was  now  rushing  to  the  surface  for  breath  at  his  top 
most  speed.  Captain  Talbert  now  cast  off  his  short 
warp,  and  left  Uncle  Joe  to  drag  slowly  in  upon  the  long 
length  of  line.  Putting  up  two  lances  in  the  crotch,  the 
captain  stood  impatiently  waiting  the  appearance  of  the 
whale,  that  he  might  tackle  him  while  in  a  state  of  ex 
haustion. 

At  this  time  the  other  two  boats  were  seen  half  a  mile 
off  to  leeward.  Raymond's  whale  was  near  them  spout 
ing  thick  black  blood,  and  the  captors  lay  waiting  the 
death  of  their  prey.  The  mate's  whale  had  sounded  out 
but  little  line  at  the  beginning  of  the  contest.  Suddenly 
he  turned,  and  came  up  quickly  to  the  surface,  ugly  and 
uneasy,  and  evidently  spoiling  for  a  fight. 

Braybrook  sprang  ahead  on  his  oars,  with  what  seemed 
to  Raymond  unnecessary  haste  in  his  manner  and  his 
movements.  He  pulled  up  alongside  the  whale  at  top 
speed,  and  fastened  second  boat ;  evidently  meaning  to 
get  a  chance  to  kill  the  whale  before  the  mate  could 


1 36  The  Fleetwing. 

haul  in  his  line.  But  as  Braybrook  approached  the  en 
raged  creature  the  boat  barely  escaped  being  cut  in  two 
by  a  sudden  under  cut  of  the  jaw  of  the  rolling  whale, 
who  showed,  by  his  wiggling  hump  and  the  angry  roar  in 
his  spout,  that  he  was  intent  upon  mischief. 

Having  missed  his  first  blow  at  the  waist-boat  served 
to  make  the  whale  all  the  more  fractious.  Thrusting  his 
vast  head  out  of  water  until  his  eyes  could  scan  the 
surface,  he  caught  sight  of  the  boat,  and  again  dashed 
after  her,  bent  upon  grappling  with  his  foe  at  close 
quarters. 

Not  having  time  to  turn  his  boat  and  flee,  Braybrook 
was  compelled  to  receive  the  attack  head  on  ;  the  crew 
sterning  with  all  their  might  to  prevent  being  run  over 
by  the  oncoming  monster.  Braybrook  stood  in  the  bow, 
lance  in  hand,  ready  to  dart  his  keen  weapon  down  the 
throat  of  the  whale,  if  he  attempted  to  bite  the  boat. 
The  maddened  beast  dashed  on  after  them,  butting  his 
vast  head  against  the  bow,  sending  the  frail  cockle-shell 
rods  away,  in  the  futile  attempt  to  crush  the  boat. 

While  the  furious  beast  was  thus  manoeuvring  to  stave 
the  waist-boat,  the  larboard  boat's  crew  had  hauled  in 
their  line,  and  were  now  ready  to  take  part  in  the  fray. 
None  but  a  heroic  soul  could  guess  the  source  of  Ray 
mond's  joy  in  that  moment.  The  instant  the  line  was  in, 
he  felt  himself  master  of  the  situation.  It  added  zest  to 
his  pleasure  that  he  had  a  fighting  whale  to  deal  with,  and 
that  Braybrook  —  the  owners'  boasted  whaleman  —  had 
found  more  than  his  match.  With  flashing  eyes,  Ray 
mond  caught  up  his  lance,  and  stood  ready  for  a  dart,  as 
he  shouted  to  his  men  with  savage  vehemence  :  — 


Saved  from  Death.  137 

"Hoogley,  coil  fast  on  your  line.  Men,  face  about, 
and  be  ready  to  haul  me  on  to  that  whale." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir!"  answered  Buntline,  Crawford,  and 
brave  John  Hoogley,  as  the  latter  finished  coiling  his 
line,  grappled  his  steering  oar,  and  mounted  upon  the 
clumsy  cleats  to  get  a  better  view  of  the  scene  of  action. 
A  brave  chorus  of  voices,  coming  from  men  as  full  of 
desperation  as  their  young  mate  himself.  The  two  green 
hands  had  sat  quaking  with  fear,  so  appalled  at  the 
thought  of  approaching  such  an  infuriated  monster,  but 
even  they  now  imbibed  courage  from  the  unanimous  as 
sent  of  the  experienced  part  of  the  crew. 

"  Are  you  ready,  John  ?  "  impatiently  called  Raymond. 

"  Yes,  sir,  the  line  is  all  in."  And  John  was  already  in 
position,  waiting  the  mate's  order. 

"  Then  ship  in  your  oars ;  and  haul  line,  every  man  of 
you !  "  shouted  Raymond,  seeing  that  what  he  did  must  be 
done  quickly,  if  he  would  save  the  waist-boat  from  de 
struction  ;  for  a  boat  cannot  long  endure  such  furious 
onsets  from  a  whale  when  in  mad  earnest. 

"  Steer  straight  in  his  wake,  Hoogley,  till  we're  close 
aboard,  for  it  will  spoil  our  game  if  he  sees  us." 

"  Straight  after  him  it  is,  sir." 

"  Near  enough  !  Now  sheer  round  his  flukes,  if  you 
can ;  but,  John,  go  over  them  if  we  must,  and  do  it 
quickly,  boy,  before  he  strikes." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir !  Haul,  men  !  haul  line  with  a  will.  Do 
you  wanter  see  the  waist-boat  eat  up  by  the  whale  ? " 

The  boat  shot  over  the  flukes,  which  John  had  not  been 
able  to  avoid,  as  the  iron  was  not  well  forward,  and  glided 
unseen  close  alongside  of  the  rolling  whale  just  as  the 


138  The  Fleetwing. 

maddened  creature  flung  up  his  jaw,  and  made  a  desper 
ate  lunge  at  the  waist-boat.  Down  went  Raymond's 
lance,  deep  in  between  the  two  uplifted  fins,  piercing  the 
mad  whale  to  the  heart  before  he  could  fully  deliver  his 
blow  at  the  other  boat.  Braybrook  was  saved,  and  the 
mate  had  killed  his  own  whale. 

This  timely  stab  in  the  breast  instantly  checked  the 
whale's  forward  career,  though  his  massive  jaws  were 
brought  together  with  a  sharp  clang  which  sent  a  shiver 
through  every  frame.  The  whale's  fins  stiffened  and 
quivered,  and  a  quick  shudder  ran  through  his  writhing 
body  ;  the  lance-wound  being  just  short  of  causing  instant 
death. 

Rallying  slowly,  the  death-stricken  whale  rolled  upright 
with  a  twinge  of  pain,  and  spouted  black  clotted  blood, 
as  he  languidly  jogged  off  to  leeward  in  the  direction  of 
the  retreating  school.  The  right  ventricle  of  his  massive 
heart  had  been  pierced,  as  shown  by  the  dark  venous 
blood.  Such  a  lance-thrust  into  the  left  cavity  would 
have  produced  instant  death.  As  it  was,  the  whale's 
strength  weakened  fast.  The  black,  grumous  life-current 
gurgled  painfully  up  from  his  snapping,  gasping  spout- 
hole  ;  and  only  by  herculean  effort  could  the  dying  mon 
ster  get  his  breath,  for  the  end  of  this  gladiator  of  the  sea 
was  near  at  hand. 

At  this  interesting  moment,  Captain  Talbert's  whale 
came  leaping  up  on  a  half  breach  from  his  deep-sea 
sounding,  spouting  with  a  convulsive  gasp  for  breath  while 
yet  suspended  high  in  air;  falling  back  into  the  sea  with 
a  crash  that  uplifted  the  waters  into  a  mountain  of  foam. 
The  whale  was  completely  exhausted  by  his  deep  sound, 


The  Moment  of  Peril.  139 

and  his  angry  tussle  below ;  and  he  now  straightened 
languidly  out  on  the  frothy  sea,  heedless  of  any  danger 
which  might  threaten  him.  The  great  sea-beast  had  re 
mained  down  an  hour  and  a  quarter. 

It  was  the  work  of  but  a  few  minutes  for  the  starboard 
boat's  crew  to  spring  ahead  on  their  oars,  and  pull  the 
captain  square  up  to  the  life  of  the  motionless  whale.  A 
single  thrust  of  the  long  lance  into  the  palpitating  hollow 
over  the  shoulder  blade,  pierced  the  lungs  and  brought 
the  claret,  red  and  abundant ;  for  barrels  and  barrels  were 
jeited  forth  from  this  seemingly  inexhaustible  fountain. 
It  took  the  huge  creature  an  hour  and  a  quarter  to  die, 
though  he  was  spouting  blood  constantly  to  the  last 
moment. 

During  all  this  time  the  Fleetwing  had  been  lying 
aback  just  to  windward  of  the  weather  boats,  where  the 
ladies  and  the  shipkeepers  could  overlook  the  whole 
tragic  scene.  When  the  larboard  boat's  whale  came  leap 
ing  up  from  the  sea,  and  with  savage  ferocity  sought  to 
destroy  the  waist-boat,  horror  was  depicted  \\\  the  faces  of 
all  on  board.  The  ladies  were  especially  horrified  at  the 
cunning  intelligence  shown  by  the  enraged  monster,  as  he 
followed  in  the  devious  track  of  the  boat  while  the  crew 
were  struggling  to  escape.  As  they  watched  Braybrook 
in  the  bow  of  his  boat,  standing  with  lance  in  hand,  ready 
to  bravely  resist  the  threatened  attack,  the  women  clung 
to  each  other  in  attitudes  of  frozen  terror,  as  they  stood 
•  awaiting  the  dread  event. 

But  when  the  young  mate  rushed  to  the  rescue,  and 
dashed  so  fearlessly  alongside  the  mad  whale,  imperilling 
his  own  life  to  save  the  waist-boat's  crew  from  the  ivory 


140  The  Flccticing. 

fangs  seen  flashing  above  their  heads :  then  Mrs.  Talbert 
uttered  a  cry  of  horror,  and  hid  her  face  in  her  hands  till 
the  impending  blow  should  fall ;  fearing  that  not  only  the 
boat's  crew  would  be  destroyed,  but  that  Raymond  him 
self  would  be  crushed  by  that  suspended  jaw. 

Miss  Allston,  on  the  contrary,  could  not  withdraw  her 
eyes  from  the  appalling  scene.  Though  a  girl  of  greater 
nerve,  she  seemed  as  terrified  as  her  companion.  Yet  she 
stood  there  transfixed  as  marble  ;  watching  with  her  whole 
soul  in  her  eyes,  as  she  prayed  the  Heavenly  Father  to 
spare  that  one  noble  soul  from  such  a  dreadful  death. 

When  she  beheld  Raymond's  lance  flashing  for  an 
instant  in  the  sun,  then  thrust  by  his  strong  arms  down 
into  the  vitals  of  the  fighting  monster ;  and  saw  the  whale 
instantly  shorn  of  his  vast  strength  by  the  blow,  with 
clasped  hands  and  sobbing  voice,  she  exclaimed  :  — 

"Hes  killscl  him!  he's  killed  him!  Thank  God  for 
his  quick  answer  to  my  prayer." 

"  Asenith  Allston !  who  is  killed  ?  Speak  quick  and 
tell  me,"  cried  Mrs.  Talbert,  still  shutting  out  the  dreadful 
scene  from  her  own  vision. 

"Why,  that  awful  whale  :  and  it  was  Mr.  Raymond  who 
killed  the  dreadful  creature  with  his  own  hand.  He  has 
saved  the  waist-boat  from  being  crushed,  for  the  whale 
stopped  the  instant  the  lance  went  into  him." 

"  Oh,  'Senith,  let  us  thank  God  for  such  a  mercy,  be 
stowed  before  our  very  eyes."  And  Mrs.  Talbert  again 
ventured  to  scan  the  battlefield,  though  still  full  of  appre 
hension  lest  her  husband  might  have  something  of  the 
kind  to  undergo. 

To  the  partial  eyes  of  Miss  Allston,  the  act  of  heroism 


The  Dying  Monster.  141 

she  had  witnessed  was  sufficient  to  glorify  the  young  mate 
to  her,  and  enshrine  him  in  her  heart  forever;  believing, 
as  she  did,  that  the  desperate  deed  was  undertaken  wholly 
to  save  the  lives  of  the  waist-boat's  crew. 

When  Raymond's  whale  was  seen  spouting  blood,  a 
moment  after,  a  wild  shout  pealed  out  over  the  water 
from  the  shipkeepers,  the  ladies  joining  in  the  shout  and 
hysterically  waving  their  kerchiefs  in  token  of  delight. 
And  soon  after,  when  Captain  Talbert's  whale  flaunted 
the  red  flag  in  his  spout,  the  shouting  voices  again  rose, 
echoing  up  among  the  sails,  and  fluttered  in  broken  notes 
far  down  over  the  sea. 

The  mate's  whale  soon  went  into  a  "  flurry,"  running 
round  and  round  in  a  small  circle,  impelled  by  a  terrible 
death-spasm,  which  gave  him  supernatural,  strength  for 
the  moment.  For  ten  minutes  the  suffocating  creature 
continued  to  lash  the  waves  with  his  flukes  as  he  ran, 
throwing  his  gigantic  head  out  of  water  and  dashing  it 
down  upon  the  sea  until  an  acre  of  blood-stained  foam 
covered  the  surface  around.  With  a  last  desperate  leap, 
the  dying  monster  flung  himself  nearly  out  of  water, 
writhing  with  agony  as  he  hung  in  the  air,  and  fell  back 
motionless  and  dead  upon  the  water.  It  is  a  frightful  scene 
to  look  upon,  and  the  boats  flee  from  it  as  from  an  earth 
quake,  though  there  is  neither  intelligence  nor  malicious 
intent  in  any  act  of  the  death-blinded  whale  when  in  a 
"  flurry." 

The  fluke-rope  was  secured  to  a  hole  cut  in  a  corner  of 
the  tail,  then  the  mate  lay  quietly  waiting  for  the  ship  to 
come  and  take  his  prize  alongside.  Braybrook  cut  off  his 
line  and  pulled  to  the  ship,  as  it  was  necessary  to  still 


142  The  Fleetwing. 

keep  the  Vessel  to  windward  of  the  captain's  whale  till  it 
was  dead,  and  Raymond  would  be  compelled  to  idly  wait 
his  turn,  as  the  weather  whale  must  be  taken  first. 

At  length,  after  a  first  flurry,  the  captain's  whale  died, 
without  going  into  the  sublime  death-agony  of  his  com 
panion  whale.  He  had  turned  up  so  near  to  the  ship 
that  by  the  time  Uncle  Joe  had  made  fast  his  tail-rope, 
Braybrook  brought  the  Fleetwing  prancing  along  to  re 
ceive  him.  A  fluke-chain  was  quickly  secured  to  the 
"small"  of  the  whale,  and  bitted  to  the  sampson-post, 
near  the  foremast. 

The  helm  was  then  put  up,  the  spanker  brailed,  the 
after  yards  squared  in,  and  the  ship  run  off  for  the  lee 
ward  whale,  which  was  soon  chained  by  another  fluke- 
chain  alongside  of  his  companion.  They  were  large,  fat 
prizes,  and  it  was  thought  by  the  best  judges  that  the  two 
would  stow  down  two  hundred  and  forty  barrels  of  rich 
sperm  oil,  worth,  at  the  least,  ten  thousand  dollars. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

CUTTING   AND    BOILING   THE   WHALES. 

A  LL  hands  were  turned  off  to  dinner  as  soon  as  the 
**  boats  were  hoisted  up.  When  Raymond  went  into 
the  cabin,  he  found  the  captain  and  ladies  seated  at 
table,  and  all  eyes  were  turned  upon  him  as  the  hero  of  the 
day.  Tears  were  in  Mrs.  Talbert's  eyes  when  she  thought 
of  the  peril  he  had  escaped.  Miss  Allston  blushed  pro 
fusely,  lest  Raymond  should  detect  how  her  young  heart 
beat  at  his  coming.  Captain  Talbert  could  not  help  con 
gratulating  his  pet  officer  on  the  success  of  the  one  deadly 
lance  he  had  given  the  savage  beast,  and  that,  too,  just  in 
time  to  prevent  the  waist-boat's  being  stoven,  adding  a 
judicious  word  of  caution  for  future  occasions  :  — 

"  Ah,  Charlie  boy,  it  did  my  old  heart  a  thousand  times 
more  good  to  see  you  fix  your  ugly  customer  in  that  neat 
way,  than  killing  my  own  whale.  But,  young  man,  you 
were  much  too  risky,  hauling  'longside  of  a  fighting  whale 
without  a  man  at  the  oars  to  back  off  with.  I  never 
taught  you  such  careless  tricks  in  whaling." 

• 

"  But,  sir,  Braybrook  was  in  more  danger  than  I  was. 
It  looked  then  as  if  the  whale  would  smash  the  waist- 
boat  before  I  could  get  my  lance  through  his  hide.  So  I 
took  the  one  only  chance  of  the  moment,  and  went  on 
lively  as  I  could,  and  did  the  work  quickly." 

M3 


144  •  The  Flcetwing. 

"  Ay,  ay,  and  it  was  well  done,  my  boy.  But  always 
plan  a  way  of  retreat  in  case  of  need." 

"  Work  of  that  kind,  well  done,  don't  require  a  retreat. 
My  plan  worked  so  well  I  should  like  to  try  it  again." 

"  We  all  saw  it  from  the  ship,  and  it  frightened  me  ter 
ribly,"  joined  in  Mrs.  Talbert.  "  My  heart  came  into  my 
throat  till  I  couldn't  breathe,  when  you  ran  the  boat 
under  that  dreadful  jaw.  But  I  know  very  well  what  took 
you  there  in  that  reckless  way." 

"  What  was  it  ?  "  asked  Raymond  archly. 

"  In  fear  Braybrook  might  kill  the  whale  before  you." 
And  the  captain  and  wife  exchanged  knowing  glances. 

"  Oh,  no !  "  exclaimed  Miss  Allston,  with  a  touch  of 
feeling  in  her  tones,  "  it  was  to  save  the  crew  of  the  other 
boat  from  being  killed.  I'm  sure  that  was  plain  to  see." 
And  the  girl's  eyes  flashed  with  suppressed  indignation 
at  the  false  imputation  put  upon  Raymond's  brave  act. 

"  But,  Asenith,  you  don't  comprehend  the  fierce  emula 
tion  between  the  two  men,"  retorted  Mrs.  Talbert. 

"  All  the  more  noble  was  the  deed,  then,  if  there  really 
is  enmity  between  them,"  continued  the  spirited  girl. 

As  the  other  officers  came  in  and  took  their  seats  at 
table,  the  subject  was  dropped.  All  were  in  high  glee  at 
the  good  luck  of  the  day,  and  the  meal  passed  off  cheerful 
and  chatty. 

"  Well,  gentlemen,"  said  Captain  Talbert,  "  we've  got  a 
nice  job  of  cut  and  boil  before  us.  I'm  afraid  one  of 
those  big  fellows  wouldn't  have  been  here  but  for  Mr. 
Bailey's  nice  management.  I  never  saw  that  neat  trick 
of  two  boats  tackling  one  line  before.  Thanks  to  you, 
Uncle  Joe,  for  that  whale." 


Joe  and  the  Lawd.  145 

The  old  hero,  too  modest  to  be  induced  to  enlarge 
upon  the  theme,  smiled  grimly,  and  meekly  bowed  his 
head.  Nevertheless,  he  was  very  grateful  for  the  captain's 
commendation,  crowned  as  it  was  by  Mrs.  Talbert's  kind 
glances,  when  she  remembered  how  faithfully  he  had  kept 
his  promise  to  her.  The  one  great  deer-like  eye  of  the 
old  man  glistened  with  obtrusive  tears,  and  he  piled  in 
the  food,  in  spite  of  a  suffocating  feeling  at  the  throat,  as 
if  a  school  of  grampuses  were  obstructing  the  passage. 

He  afterwards  told  Mrs.  Talbert  that  he  was  completely 
overcome  for  the  moment :  — 

"  Ah,  missus,  de  gudenis  ob  de  Lawd  am"  suffin'  mo' 
dan  dis  child  can  b'ar.  Gor  A'mighty  didn't  furget  dis 
uns  onct  t'rough  de  tussle  ob  dat  day.  Dear  leddy,  when 
dis  yere  ole  brack  brudder  wuz  tuggin'  at  de  line,  an  de' 
boat  tried  so  dreffle  hard  ter  spill  us  out,  an'  g'long  down 
arter  dat  whale,  den  dis  nigger  kep'  axin'  de  Lawd : 
'  Doan  gwine  leab  us,  Heabenly  Farder.  Lawdy  !  Lawdy  ! 
stick  ter  us  uns,  like  ar  tick.'  An',  missus,  de  A'mighty 
wuz  rite  dar,  all  de  time ;  'cept  when  Misser  Raymon' 
haul'd  up  under  de  shadder  ob  Death,  wid  dat  ole  whale's 
harrer  on  top  uv  him.  Den,  leddy,  I  'spec  de  dear  Lawd 
lef  us  ar  minute ;  fur  dat  ole  jaw  shet  down  moughty 
queak  time  ;  an'  down  went  de  lance  inter  do  sinful  heart 
ob  dat  ole  'parm  whale.  Bressed  be  de  name  ob  de 
Lawd  !  fur  he  tuk  care  ob  all  us  uns  dat  day." 

At  the  close  of  the  noon  meal  in  the  cabin,  while  the 
officers  were  waiting  for  the  crew  to  finish  their  dinner, 
Captain  Talbert  took  the  ladies  out  amidships  to  see  the 
whales  before  they  were  dismembered  by  cutting.  Ray 
mond's  whale  was  the  outside  one,  and  lay  breast  up, 


146  The  Flcetwing. 

with  the  right  fin  out  of  water,  showing  just  where  the 
mate's  deadly  lance  went  in.  It  was  a  diminutive  stab  to 
accomplish  such  wonders,  being  less  than  two  inches 
wide.  It  pierced  the  whale  directly  between  the  pectoral 
fins,  though  about  a  foot  aft  from  a  line  drawn  between 
the  joints  of  the  fins.  It  might  well  have  amazed  the 
ladies  that  so  small  a  wound  could  have  killed  the 
monster  so  quickly,  though  their  surprise  was  lessened 
when  told  that  the  lance  entered  four  feet  into  the  body. 

The  color  of  the  whales  was  similar  to  that  of  a  maltese 
cat ;  being  a  dark  greenish-gray  on  the  back,  lighter 
on  the  sides,  with  the  gray  running  almost  into  white  on 
the  belly.  The  head  of  a  Cachalot  is  blunt  and  square- 
ended,  shaped  differently  from  that  of  any  other  whale. 
The  spout-hole  is  at  the  very  front  of  the  head,  to  the  left 
of  the  centre  ;  so  far  forward  that  the  spout  is  jetted  out 
at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees,  and  a  little  to  the  left, 
withal ;  so  that  the  spout  of  a  spermaceti  is  easily  dis 
tinguished  from  all  other  spouts. 

The  abdominal  part  of  the  body  is  round  and  bilging, 
thence  tapering  gradually  from  the  hump  to  the  tail,  but 
quickly  thinning  on  the  sides  of  its  after  part.  That  part 
of  the  body  next  the  tail  is  called  the  "small,"  and  is 
made  up  of  a  massive  bundle  of  sinews,  some  of  which 
are  larger  than  a  man's  arm.  The  terminal  end  of  the 
•'small"  expands  into  two  horizontal  propellers,  termed 
flukes,  which  are  hard  as  iron,  yet  springy  as  steel. 
These  flukes  taper  away  into  two  points,  the  whole  out 
line  showing  most  exquisite  curves  of  beauty. 

No  one  can  but  admire  the  elastic  motion  of  the  sinewy 
"  small,"  and  graceful  flukes,  when  observed  in  full 


Lopt ailing.  147 

action,  whether  seen  in  the  playful  pastime  of  "turning 
flukes,"  when  about  to  sound;  or  amorously  "loptailing" 
with  resounding  blows  on  the  sea,  when  ardently  endeav 
oring  to  call  her  far-away  mate  to  the  dalliance  of  love  — 
as  a  human  lover  bellows  "  Meet  me  by  moonlight "  when 
trying  to  entice  his  mistress  by  serenade.  Or  when  seen 
during  those  grand  and  terrible  occasions  when  the  flukes 
are  used  as  weapons  of  warfare  in  the  whale's  mad  moods, 
flashing,  like  the  cimeter  of  Saladin,  while  seen  through 
fountains  of  lashed  waters  and  falling  foam. 

The  men  were  given  an  hour  to  tackle  their  food  and 
smoke  the  pipe  of  peace,  before  they  were  turned  on  to 
cutting.  Then  the  mate's  cheery  voice  was  heard  mus 
tering  all  hands  aft  to  prepare  for  cutting  in  the  whales. 

Luckily  the  massive  cutting  pendants  had  been  sent 
aloft  several  days  before ;  yet  there  were  many  other 
preparatory  duties  before  the  whales  could  be  hove  in. 
The  ponderous  cutting  tackles  were  to  be  rove  in  the  four 
huge  blocks  at  the  masthead,  reeved  from  great  ropes 

three  inches  in  diameter.     Some  men  were  at  work  hoist- 

s 
ing  up  the  empty  cask^from  between-decks,  and  cleaning 

out  the  blubber-room  ready  to  receive  the  blubber. 

Two  stages  were  put  over  the  side  for  the  officers, 
where  they  would  stand  to  cut  in  the  whales.  The  stage 
forward  of  the  gangway  was  for  the  second  mate.  The 
larger  one  slung  under  the  main  chains  was  for  the 
captain  and  mate.  The  carpenter  and  his  boy  were  busy 
at  the  grindstone,  on  top  of  the  cabin,  putting  a  keen 
edge  to  the  cutting  spades,  and  the  long  double-edge 
boarding  knives,  used  for  making  holes  in  the  great 
blanket-pieces,  through  which  to  toggle  the  tackle  blocks. 


148  The  Flcctiving. 

The  big  shackles  and  the  enormous  iron  blubber-hooks 
were  dragged  into  the  waist,  and  the  great  oaken  toggles 
were  laid  handy  for  securing  the  cutting-blocks  to  the 
blanket-pieces. 

While  all  these  duties  were  going  on  about  the  deck, 
the  inside  fluke-chain  was  slacked  aft  until  the  eye  of  the 
whale  came  abreast  of  the  mate's  staging,  in  position  for 
cutting  off  the  head.  With  his  half-round  spade  in  hand, 
Braybrook  stood  ready  to  cut  a  smooth  round  hole  in  the 
thick  blubber  near  the  bunch  of  the  eye,  large  enough  to 
receive  the  massive  hook ;  then  with  a  straight-edge 
spade  he  cut  a  heading  in  the  blubber  two  feet  beyond  the 
hole,  that  the  hook  might  not  tear  out  in  hoisting.  This 
done,  he  called  out :  — 

"  Overboard,  and  hook  on  !  " 

This  wet  and  laborious  task  falls  to  one  of  the  four 
boat-steerers,  and  the  starboard  boat's  harponier  always 
takes  the  first  "overboard."  Tahiti  John  answered  the 
call,  having  previously  prepared  himself  in  the  simple 
garb  of  drawers,  undershirt,  and  stockings ;  coming  with 
his  "  monkey  rope  "  attached  to  a  broad  canvas  belt  about 
the  waist,  by  which  to  steady  him  while  standing  on  the 
rolling  whale,  and  to  haul  him  on  board  when  half 
drowned  by  numerous  duckings. 

The  nimble  Kanaka  sprang  down  on  the  whale's  side, 
braced  his  right  foot  in  the  scarf  of  the  blubber,  and 
called  for  the  lanyard.  The  hook  had  been  shackled  to  the 
lower  block,  and  the  tackle  was  now  overhauled  down 
the-  side  ready  for  the  "  overboard  "  to  hook  on.  With 
the  lanyard  in  hand,  Tahiti  hauled  the  great  hook  upon 
the  whale  and  secured  it  in  the  blubber.  The  tackle  was 


The  Whales  Head.  149 

then  hauled  taut,  taken  to  the  windlass  and  rounded  in 
sufficient  to  lift  the  whale  a  little,  and  steady  him  in  the 
swash  of  the  seas. 

The  whale  lay  back  to  the  ship,  the  best  position  for 
hooking  on,  and  for  flencing  off  his  blubber;  but  the 
whole  operation  of  "cutting  in"  was  now  necessarily 
delayed  by  the  difficult  process  of  cutting  off  the  head. 
This  task  fell  to  the  captain  and  mate.  Captain 
Talbert  began  by  cutting  a  deep  scarf  down  through 
the  oily  bunch  of  the  neck,  working  over  in  a  line 
between  the  eye  and  the  fin,  and  following  close  along 
on  the  inside  of  the  crown  bone  ;  taking  care  not  to  cut 
into  the  case  and  let  out  the  rich  spermaceti. 

While  the  captain  was  at  work  around  the  neck-bone, 
Raymond  commenced  his  work  at  the  nib-end,  severing 
the  huge  junk  from  the  upper  jaw-bone,  and  working  past 
the  eye  to  meet  the  captain's  scarf  at  the  crown-bone. 
When  these  two  scarfs  were  met,  and  the  head  was 
thoroughly  severed  on  the  upper  side,  then  the  blanket 
piece  was  hove  up  by  the  windlass,  until  the  under  side  of 
the  whale  rolled  up,  and  he  lay  belly  to  the  ship.  Then 
the  windlass  was  stopped,  and  the  officers  in  the  m  after 
stage  set  to  work  to  do  for  the  right  side  of  the  head  what 
had  previously  been  done  for  the  left. 

Before  the  head  was  severed  from  the  body,  a  stout 
head-chain  was  shackled  to  the  nib-end  and  carried  in 
board  at  the  quarter  hawsepipe,  and  the  huge  junk  was 
left  to  swash  about  in  the  sea,  until  the  whale  was  cut  in. 
This  matter  of  cutting  off  a  large  whale's  head  is  fairly 
easy  for  an  expert,  in  smooth  water ;  but  with  a  wallowing 
sea  and  a  wiggling  whale  it  becomes  a  most  difficult  task, 


150  The  Flee  living. 

being  impossible  to  make  the  successive  spade-cuts  follow  * 
the    lead   of    the    previous    ones,    for    the    long-handled 
instrument  will  sheer  here  and  there  in  some  indirect  way, 
leaving  numerous  "  slivers  "  of  uncut  blubber,  which  are 
hard  to  find  and  sever  under  water. 

Now  the  head  was  off,  all  was  clear  for  unimpeded 
action  on  the  blubber,  and  the  windlass  was  set  a-going 
with  song  and  chorus,  until  the  first  tackle  was  hove  up  to 
the  masthead.  "  Two  blocks  ! "  was  called  out  by  the 
sailors,  and  the  windlass  was  stopped,  until  the  suspended 
"  piece  "  could  be  boarded. 

The  second  tackle  was  then  toggled  to  the  blubber, 
through  an  oval  hole  cut  close  down  to  the  planksheer, 
and  hove  taut  at  the  windlass.  The  first  blanket-piece 
was  cut  off  and  lowered  into  the  blubber-room,  amid 
three  rousing  cheers,  from  all  hands,  for  the  first  "horse 
piece  "  of  the  voyage.  Then  the  windlass  was  set  going 
at  a  flip-flop  motion,  reeling  off  the  blubber  at  a  rapid 
rate.  By  a  continuation  of  this  process,  length  after 
length  of  the  oily  blanket-pieces  was  hove  in  and  lowered 
between-decks,  until  the  whole  vast  mass  of  blubber  was 
flenced  from  the  body,  and  the  carcass  was  cut  adrift  and 
left  to  float  away;  becoming  food  for  a  shoal  of  sharks, 
and  the  countless  birds  seen  hovering  about  and  upon 
the  palatable  looking  meat. 

The  best  part  of  the  afternoon  was  gone  before  the 
second  whale  was  hooked  on  to,  and  it  was  midnight 
before  the  blubber  of  the  whale  was  fairly  in.  The  two 
junks  were  hauled  forward  and  secured  for  the  night 
through  the  bow-chocks.  All  hands  were  then  turned  off 
to  supper ;  after  which  a  boat's  crew  watch  was  set,  and 
the  other  men  turned  in  for  the  night. 


Bailing  the  Case.  1 5 1 

At  break  of  day,  the  hands  were  called  out  to  breakfast. 
The  heads  were  hauled  into  the  waist,  and  the  case  of  the 
first  head  —  the  part  containing  the  liquid  oil  —  was 
separated  from  the  junk.  The  latter  was  hooked  to  with 
both  tackles,  and  hove  in  bodily  ;  its  vast  weight  careened 
the  ship  to  windward,  bent  the  great  mainmast,  and  set 
the  larboard  shrouds  taut  as  iron  bars.  The  tackles  were 
hove  nearly  two  blocks  before  the  massive  junk  would 
swing  inboard.  When  lowered  on  deck,  it  was  hauled  aft 
and  secured  to  the  lash-rail  and  ring  bolts  for  the  present. 
The  whole  head  weighed  about  twelve  tons  ;  the  junk 
contained  a  little  over  thirty  barrels  of  pure  spermaceti  of 
a  light  straw-color,  fragrant,  and  soft  as  velvet  to  the 
touch.  The  case  was  then  grappled  with  both  tackles 
and  hove  up  to  the  level  of  the  planksheer,  hanging  nose- 
end  down.  A  hole  was  cut  in  the  top-end  for  bailing  the 
precious  spermaceti.  For  this  purpose  a  whip-tackle  was 
suspended  from  the  mainyard  and  attached  to  the  case- 
bucket,  by  which  to  draw  up  the  fluid  oil,  which  smelt 
fragrant  as  the  breath  of  an  infant.  This  first  case 
yielded  fifteen  barrels  of  oil,  being  the  larger  of  the  two : 
though  very  large  ones  sometimes  contain  twenty-five 
barrels.  When  this  wonderful  oil-well  was  exhausted  by 
the  bailers,  it  was  cut  adrift  from  the  tackles  and  fell  with 
a  plunge  into  the  sea,  sinking  like  a  rock  into  the  un 
known  depths  below.  The  walls  of  this  curious  oil 
cavern  were  six  inches  thick,  composed  of  what  whalemen 
call  "  white  horse  "  ;  an  oilless  substance,  hard  as  gristle. 

Strange  to  say,  there  is  not  a  drop  of  red  blood  found 
in  this  whole  oleaginous  substance  of  the  head,  which  is 
evidently  a  vast  reservoir,  used  for  vital  recuperation 


152  The  Fleetwing. 

while  the  whale  is  hibernating  miles  down  in  the  deep  sea. 
Neither  are  there  any  large  arteries,  veins,  or  blood 
sinuses  of  any  kind,  though  there  are  millions  of  minute 
capillaries  distributed  through  the  junk  and  case,  adapted 
to  feeding  into  the  remote  blood-vessels  of  the  body  upon 
special  occasions. 

Thus  this  rich  straw-colored  spermaceti,  which  was 
once  used  for  anointing  kings,  fills  a  wonderful  purpose 
in  the  economy  of  circulation,  as  both  the  semi-fluid  oil 
of  the  junk  and  the  liquid  oil  of  the  case  are  thoroughly 
aerated,  for  it  is  found  to  have  as  vital  warmth  as  those 
parts  of  the  body  which  abound  with  red  globules.  Phys 
iologists  know  that  the  vital  blood  fluids  can  acquire 
their  caloric  only  from  the  oxygen  of  air  or  water ;  and  it 
thus  follows  that  this  immense  caloriduct  of  spermaceti  is 
a  vast  storehouse  of  aerated  blood-food,  which  only  re 
quires  hematin,  the  ferruginous  coloring  matter,  to  make 
it  similar  to  the  best  arterialized  blood  circulating  in  the 
body,  fathoms  away  from  the  head. 

The  trachea  or  windpipe  of  the  sperm  whale  runs 
through  the  case,  extending  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  back 
from  the  spout-hole,  where  it  joins  the  bronchial  tubes  just 
before  they  enter  the  lungs.  This  great  breathing  tube  of 
a  whale  is  a  foot  in  diameter,  and  out  of  it  comes  the 
spout,  a  vapory  mist-colored  cloud  ten  feet  high,  which  is 
a  foot  thick  at  the  outlet,  or  spiracle,  and  expands  four  or 
five  feet  at  its  widest.  The  spout  blows  fifteen  or  twenty 
feet  along  the  surface  before  it  dissipates.  When  by 
chance  the  spout  is  blown  across  the  boat  and  strikes  the 
face,  it  feels  humid  as  fine  spray,  tastes  a  trifle  saline,  and 
irritates  the  skin  as  if  stung  with  a  nettle. 


Starting  the  Try  works.  153 

The  "  black-skin,"  or  external  pellicle  of  a  whale,  is 
thin  as  paper,  bright,  smooth,  and  elastic.  This  cuticle 
covers  about  half  an  inch  of  black  (or  other  colored) 
curdy  substance,  which  is  deposited  in  radial  fibres,  like 
those  of  a  mushroom,  and  contains  the  pigment  or  color 
ing  matter.  Beneath  this  intermediate,  cushion-like  sub 
stance  is  the  true  skin,  and  the  blubber;  upon  which  is 
found  a  fine  close  fur  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  long. 
The  flesh  of  all  the  whale  species  has  the  appearance, 
color,  and  taste  of  coarse-fibred  beef. 

Whales  bring  forth  their  young  like  land  mammals, 
having  but  one  at  a  birth.  Their  milk  is  white,  thick,  and 
nutritious ;  they  suckle  the  calves  by  means  of  two  ab 
dominal  mammai,  or  teats,  located  near  the  source  of 
birth.  They  are  of  gregarious  habits,  roaming  from  sea 
to  sea,  in  large  schools  of  from  fifty  to  six  hundred;  ex 
cept  the  old  males,  who  wander  alone  in  solitary  grandeur, 
having  been  driven  from  the  school,  over  which  they  once 
presided  as  Paterfamilias,  by  more  successful  combatants ; 
for  they  are  pugnacious  and  quarrelsome  in  the  family  as 
buffalo  bulls. 

The  tryworks  were  first  started  on  the  "  head  matter," 
as  the  spermaceti  only  requires  scalding  to  keep  it  sweet 
during  the  voyage.  The  cover  had  been  taken  from  the 
massive  trypots  early  in  the  day,  and  two  boys  kept  scrub 
bing  for  hours  with  sand  and  brush,  until  the  great  kettles, 
of  five  hundred  gallons  capacity,  were  made  to  shine. 
The  fires  were  kept  up  from  a  cask  of  whale-scraps,  which 
some  other  ship  had  left  over  from  a  previous  voyage,  and 
most  of  the  afternoon  had  been  occupied  scalding  the 
eighty-five  barrels  of  spermaceti  coming  from  ihe  two 
heads, 


1 54  The  Fleetwing. 

The  blubber-room  men  were  busy  cutting  "  horse- 
pieces,"  having  previously  cut  every  particle  of  body-fat, 
or  lean,  from  the  blubber.  A  great  tub  lashed  to  the 
main  hatch  was  kept  full  of  these  pieces,  cut  to  the  size 
required  for  the  mincing  machine,  which  sliced  the  horse- 
pieces  into  thin  leaves,  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick,  from 
which  the  oil  is  easily  simmered  in  the  hot  pots. 

After  supper,  "boiling  watches"  were  set;  which  differ 
from  the  ordinary  sea-watch,  being  six  hours  long.  The 
tryworks  were  glibly  running  on  the  body  blubber,  the 
men  keeping  the  fires  up  from  fresh  scraps  of  their  own 
making,  casting  a  lurid  glow  that  could  be  seen  miles 
away. 

During  the  evening,  the  ladies  came  out  for  brief  exer 
cise,  and  a  phantom  scene  met  their  eyes  in  the  fire- 
lighted  darkness.  The  oil-works  were  in  full  blast,  being 
driven  at  their  utmost,  and  a  weird  wild  picture  gradually 
broke  upon  their  vision  through  the  night  gloom.  The 
mainsail  was  furled,  which  left  the  forward  view  unob 
structed  from  the  top  of  the  cabin.  Black  smoke  and 
lurid  flame  shot  up  with  a  roaring  noise  from  the  back 
arches,  reaching  nearly  up  to  the  mainstay.  The  ship's 
deck,  and  the  black  sea  around,  were  lighted  by  the  fitful 
glare  when  the  flame  occasionally  burst  out  free  from  the 
encumbering  smoke,  to  be  instantly  hidden  again  ;  thus 
imparting  a  strange  and  grotesque  appearance  to  the  busy 
deck-watch,' as  they  emerged  for  an  instant  from  out  the 
hadean  blackness. 

While  the  fires  were  slacked  down,  just  before  skim 
ming  off  a  hot  pot,  the  boat-steerers  could  be  dimly  seen 
wielding  the  stir-poles,  while  turning  the  simmering  blub- 


A  Weird  Night  Scene.  155 

her;  their  swaying  figures  looking  like  ill-omened  spirits 
presiding  over  the  seething  caldrons  with  some  unearthly 
design.  When  the  pots  were  replenished  with  fresh  blub 
ber,  and  the  men  poked  the  fires  and  applied  new  scraps, 
a  clear  flame  would  belch  forth  from  the  arches  and  light 
up  the  ship  until  one  could  see  to  read  at  the  taffrail  by 
the  intensified  glare. 

The  ringing  noise  of  the  cooper's  bung-starter,  coming 
from  under  the  black  smoke  which  enshrouded  th>e  cooler, 
was  given  back  in  several  musical  echoes  from  the  cav- 
erned  sails  above,  and  it  often  startled  the  soundest 
sleeper  below  in  his  berth.  Only  the  sharpest  eyes  could 
distinguish  the  cask,  the  man,  or  the  shining  copper 
cooler,  through  the  illuminated  blackness  of  the  smoke- 
cloud  from  whence  the  furious  din  emerged. 

Again  the  cabin  group  were  startled  by  —  "Away 
cask  !  "  bellowed  vociferously  by  the  strong  lungs  of  old 
"  Bungs,"  as  he  hammers  in  the  pine  bung  to  a  full  hogs 
head  of  the  hot  oil ;  a  call  that  served  to  newly  awaken 
the  whole  pandemonium  of  the  scene.  Black  objects 
which  silhouette  like  men,  emerged  from  behind  casks, 
the  windlass-bitts,  and  from  out  the  cook's  galley,  where 
they  had  skulked  away  during  an  unemployed  moment, 
to  plunge  into  the  noisy  smoke-cloud  over  the  cooler,  and 
come  forth  in  a  mass,  rolling  away  a  cask  of  hot  oil, 
which  is  headed  up  along  the  weather  bulwarks,  and 
lashed  to  the  rail. 

Then  a  fresh  cask  must  be  got  ready  and  tested  for 
the  cooler,  which  involves  the  greatest  noise  of  all ;  for 
three  sets  of  coopers  and  helpers  attack  the  cask  with 
four-pound  hammers  and  iron  drivers,  and  they  belabor 


156  The  Fleetwing. 

the  innocent  receptacle  with  blows  enough  to  maul  an 
elephant.  This  done,  a  pint  of  brine  is  put  in  at  the 
bunghole,  followed  by  a  pint  of  hot  oil  from  the  pot. 
The  bung  is  clapped  in  quickly  and  tightened.  The  cask 
is  tumbled  and  shaken  about,  making  a  high  pressure  of 
steam  within,  which  fails  not  to  point  out  every  bad  joint 
or  hidden  worm-hole  by  a  furious  hiss  of  steam.  "  What  a 
waste  of  precious  oil  ! "  cries  the  penurious  observer. 
Not  so,  for  the  brine  evaporates  in  steam  when  the  bung 
is  withdrawn,  and  the  oil  remains  unharmed  within  the 
cask. 

It  was  curious  to  watch  the  swaying,  zig-zag  motions  of 
the  hand-mincer  when  exposed  to  the  full  glare,  on  the 
front  side  of  the  tryworks,  while  the  arch  doors  were 
open ;  his  broad,  bright  mincing-knife  attracted  the  glitter 
as  he  slashed  into  the  "  horse-pieces,"  with  a  right  and 
left  stroke,  cutting  the  blubber  into  the  thinnest  possible 
slices,  ready  for  the  pot. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

MAKING   A    PORT   AT   THE    AZORES. 

A  WEEK  had  passed  since  the  oil  was  stowed  down, 
*••  and  the  ship  had  been  tidied  up  as  if  no  such  event 
had  happened.  As  there  was  no  further  appearance  of 
whales,  the  ship  was  to  be  kept  off  for  Flores  on  the  fol 
lowing  day,  where,  if  the  weather  favored,  the  boats 
would  land  to  procure  fruit  and  fresh  provisions,  after 
which  the  ship  would  be  kept  away  for  Fayal. 

When  sail  was  shortened  for  the  night,  and  a  boat's 
crew  watch  had  been  set,  Raymond  was  invited  to  a  whist 
party  in  the  after  cabin.  As  usual,  of  late,  Captain  and 
Mrs.  Talbert  were  matched  against  Miss  Allston  and 
the  mate,  though  until  quite  recently  the  order  of  playing 
had  been  otherwise,  for  Mrs.  Talbert  liked  best  to  play 
with  Raymond. 

After  a  severely  contested  rubber,  which  fortune  had 
conferred  upon  the  younger  partners,  the  captain  got 
down  his  chart  and  shaped  the  course  for  the  morning, 
and  Raymond  went  to  his  state-room  to  write  up  his  log. 
As  the  evening  was  warm  and  pleasant,  the  mate  subse 
quently  stole  out  into  the  starlight  for  an  hour's  reverie  on 
deck  before  turning  in. 

Seating  himself  on  the  cushioned  seat  by  the  taffrail, 
with  his  back  against  the  round-house,  he  gave  up  his 

'57 


158  The  Fleetwing. 

thoughts  to  home-scenes,  and  called  up  the  sweet,  sad- 
faced  girl  he  had  left  behind,  dwelling  long  upon  the 
tender  appeal  from  her  tearful  eyes  while  she  clung  so 
lovingly  about  his  neck,  pleading  that  he  would  not  leave 
her.  How  long  he  had  been  thus  absorbed  he  knew  not, 
when  aroused  by  a  soft  hand- touch  upon  his  shoulder, 
and  a  sympathetic  voice  intruding  upon  his  delicious 
reverie. 

He  turned,  and  saw  it  was  the  lady  passenger,  and 
reluctantly  asked  her  to  a  seat  by  his  side.  As  there  was 
no  one  at  the  helm,  they  found  themselves  alone  in  the 
starlit  solitude. 

"  I  heard  you  humming  one  of  Mamie's  pretty  songs  ; 
and  the  night  seemed  so  beautiful  from  my  window  that  I 
ventured  out  to  look  awhile  upon  the  stars,  which  you 
have  made  so  interesting  by  tracing  out  the  constellations 
for  me.  But  I  fear,  Mr.  Raymond,  that  I  have  broken  in 
upon  your  pleasant  home-thoughts,  and,  if  you  wish,  I  will 
go  directly  away." 

The  girl  laid  her  hand  gently  upon  Raymond's  arm  as 
she  spoke,  as  if  to  impress  him  with  her  sympathy  and 
her  sense  of  the  sanctity  of  a  lover's  reverie. 

"  Never  mind  ;  I  really  didn't  know  what  town  I  was 
abiding  in  just  then.  But  I  have  long  years  before  me 
in  which  to  think  everything  threadbare." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Raymond,  I  have  been  thinking  how  much  a 
man  is  to  be  envied  for  his  freedom  to  choose  from  the 
multitude,  making  choice  of  the  one  he  most  can  love. 
How  different  it  is  with  a  girl !  " 

"  Really,  Miss  Allston,  I  should  have  placed  that  boot 
on  the  other  foot.  I  had  supposed  that  a  well  favored 


TJic  Homesick  Girl.  159 

girl  had  only  to  bide  her  time,  and  choose  from  her 
multitude  of  admirers." 

"Pray  remember  that  our  State  has  seventy-five  thou 
sand  less  of  one  kind  than  the  other  in  pairing  off ;  so 
that  many  a  girl  never  has  a  really  acceptable  offer  of 
marriage.  But  this  is  not  what  I  came  out  to  talk  about. 
I  hope  you  have  been  having  some  pleasant  thoughts." 

"  Some  pleasant,  and  some  awfully  sad  ones." 

"  Let  me  hope  you  were  not  wishing  yourself  back 
home,  as  I  have  been  doing  to-night,  after  what  I  heard 
to-day." 

"What  could  you  have  heard,  —  except  from  a  spirit, — 
that  you  should  wish  yourself  back  ?  " 

"  Mr.  Braybrook  said  in  my  hearing  to-day  that  Mr. 
Richards  was  of  no  account ;  '  a  fellow  given  to  roistering 
life,'  whatever  that  may  mean.  If  that  is  the  case,  it 
were  better  if  I  were  dead." 

And  again  her  little  hand  touched  lightly  upon  Ray 
mond's  arm,  and  her  voice  trembled  with  emotion.  Her 
tone  and  her  touch  fired  the  noble  instincts  of  the  man, 
and  he  sprang  up,  and  stood  before  the  grieved  girl,  ready 
to  battle  in  her  cause,  as  he  answered,  with  a  touch  of 
vehemence  in  his  voice  :  — 

"  I  don't  believe  a  word  of  it ;  and  you  must  not 
harbor  such  a  thought,  whatever  its  source.  I  think 
George  Richards  is  a  worthy  man  ;  and  none  but  a  very 
Satan  could  speak  ill  of  him.  Tell  me  quickly,  does 
Braybrook  know  of  your  present  relation  to  Mr.  Rich 
ards  ? "  The  mate's  sailor-heart  was  fired  by  the  girl's 
pitiable  situation. 

"  No,  not  that  I  know  of ;  and  let  me  beg  of  you,  Mr. 


160  The  Fleetwing. 

Raymond,  that  all  our  talks  may  be  in  confidence.  I 
could  not  bear  to  have  the  second  mate  know  about  my 
affairs ;  the  man  is  so  sarcastic  and  hateful  in  his  remarks 
about  everbody  !  " 

"  He  shall  learn  to  bridle  his  tongue  in  your  affairs. 
But  then,  if  he  does  not  know  your  relations,  he  might 
have  meant  no  harm." 

"  What  makes  that  man  so  cynical  ?  He  snaps  up 
everybody  he  speaks  to." 

"  He  is  embittered  by  baffled  ambition  and  hard  usage 
in  the  past.  From  that  view  of  his  case  I  have  had  much 
forbearance  for  the  man,  and  have  half  believed  that  I 
might  come  to  like  him  yet.  Does  he  ever  address  his 
conversation  to  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  but  I  have  always  repelled  him,  either  by  silence 
or  retort ;  for  I  cannot  bear  him  !  " 

"  You  must  not  do  that.  He  is  not  a  person  whom  you 
could  choose  for  a  friend  ;  but  it  would  be  most  unpleas 
ant  to  think  of  such  a  man  as  your  enemy." 

"  Perhaps  you  are  right ;  but  I  am  mortally  afraid  of 
him  now.  He  speaks  evil  of  every  one.  After  risking 
your  life,  as  you  did,  to  save  him  from  that  dreadful 
whale,  he  should  esteem  you  highly ;  and  yet  I  have 
heard  him  speak  lightly  of  your  brave  aet.  He  even  said 
to  Mrs.  Talbert  that  he  should  have  done  the  same  thing 
had  you  been  in  his  place." 

"  I  think  he  would.  The  man  hasn't  a  cowardly  fibre 
in  his  body.  You  all  make  too  much  of  that  job.  Bray- 
brook  is  too  manly  to  purposely  hurt  your  feelings  ;  but  it 
is  dangerous  to  goad  such  a  man  by  personal  incivilities. 
I  will  sound  him,  and  learn  if  there  is  any  truth  in  his 


Tfie  Land  of  Flowers.  161 

slanders.  Braybrook's  shore  life  in  port  would  lead  him 
to  see  more  of  a  man's  evil  side  than  I  know  of.  But 
from  what  I  have  seen  I  believe  your  affianced  to  be  an 
upright  man  ;  and  1  think  you  are  a  brave  girl  to  go  so 
far  away  to  meet  him." 

"  But  just  think !  it  is  years  since  I  have  seen  him  ! 
and  what  should  I  do  if  he  is  found  unworthy  of  all  the 
trouble  I  am  taking  ?  Oh,  Mr.  Raymond,  you  will  probe 
this  matter  for  me !  And  remember  that  I  cannot  bear 
to  have  my  position  made  known  to  the  second  mate." 

"  Depend  upon  me,  Miss  Allston,  I  will  act  as  carefully 
as  you  can  wish.  But  there  goes  four  bells !  Time  we 
were  in  our  berths." 

Raymond  took  the  girl  by  the  hand,  and  led  her  around 
to  the  front  of  the  cabin.  As  they  entered  the  vestibule, 
the  grateful  girl  clung  tightly  to  the  guiding  hand  one 
precious  moment  before  parting  for  the  night  ;  and  Ray 
mond  could  not  do  less  than  return  the  gentle  pressure,  in 
his  honest  endeavor  to  assure  the  tearful  creature  of  his 
sympathy. 

All  hands  were  called  at  daybreak ;  and  Raymond 
came  out  and  made  sail.  The  ship  was  kept  away  on  a 
southeast  course  for  Flores.  She  ran  down  past  Corvo 
about  noon,  while  the  officers  were  taking  the  sun  for 
meridian  latitude.  Late  in  the  afternoon  they  doubled 
round  the  northeast  point  of  Flores,  ran  in  under  the  lee 
of  the  land,  and  lay  by  off  Santa  Cruz  until  morning. 

Flores  is  the  land  of  flowers,  as  its  name  signifies :  a 
picturesque  island  rising  three  thousand  feet  above  the 
sea,  and,  when  seen  at  a  distance,  looks  blue  as  the  bluest 
of  all  oceans  which  washes  its  shores.  The  island  is  bold 


1 62  Tlic  Fleetiving. 

to  approach  for  the  largest  ships,  has  a  rock-bound  shore, 
and  no  well  sheltered  harbor.  It  lies  in  a  genial  climate 
through  most  of  the  year,  though  the  winter  winds  are 
strong  and  chill :  thus  the  climatic  changes  are  variable, 
the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  ranging  from  45°  to  85°, 
impressing  the  stranger  more  sensibly  because  of  the  con 
stant  humidity,  which  is  so  great  that  house-paper  cannot 
be  made  to  adhere  to  the  walls,  and  veneering  becomes 
detached  from  furniture. 

In  the  middle  distance,  the  island  shows  a  smooth  un 
broken  outline,  sloping  upward  from  the  south  to  the 
dome-like  mountain  at  the  north  ;  but  when  nearing  the 
land,  the  shores  are  found  cleft  into  many  deep  ravines 
and  beautiful  valleys,  watered  by  streams  along  which  are 
seen  numerous  white-washed  farm-houses,  about  which 
every  foot  of  land  is  under  some  sort  of  cultivation.  In 
the  sheltered  nooks  adjacent  to  the  small  bays,  houses  are 
clustered  in  villages,  adorned  with  pretty  gardens  of  fruits 
and  flowers,  and  embowered  among  forest  trees,  though 
there  are  but  few  trees  of  large  growth  on  any  of  the 
islands.  These  villages  acquire  an  air  of  pastoral  peace 
and  repose,  very  enticing  to  the  wave-rocked  mariner. 

During  the  evening  the  ladies  came  from  the  cabin  for 
an  hour's  walk  with  the  captain  and  mate.  Miss  Allston 
gladly  paired  off  with  the  latter,  and  seemed  in  much 
better  spirits  than  during  the  previous  night.  The  half- 
grown  moon  hung  in  the  southwest,  playfully  dodging 
among  the  occasional  fleecy  clouds  that  sailed  lazily 
across  the  sky.  While  the  moon  shone  undimmed,  her 
light  had  the  effect  to  make  the  smaller  cloudlets  look 
like  flocks  of  slow-flying  swans,  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the 


T/ic  Azores.  163 

moon  ;  while  the  large  dense  cumuli  cast  black  and  dis 
mal  shadows  when  they  passed  over  the  orb,  creeping 
mysteriously  over  the  silent  land  like  groups  of  hooded 
monks  marching  in  prayerful  procession,  and  invaded  the 
unruffled  water  like  some  stealthy  bandit  of  the  sea. 

It  was  a  night  to  prompt  home-thoughts  to  the  wan 
derer,  and  plunge  him  into  pleasant  reveries  of  the  far-off 
loved  ones,  except  when  paired  with  a  prattling  woman, 
who  would  be  apt  to  force  him  into  agreeable  gossip  upon 
local  topics,  as  in  the  present  case,  when  Raymond's 
companion  was  bent  upon  knowing  something  of  the 
geography  and  remote  history  of  those  mid-ocean  isl 
ands. 

"  Please  tell  me,  Mr.  Raymond,  aren't  we  near  the 
coast  of  Europe  or  Africa?"  asked  the  pleasing  girl,  in 
her  sweet  liquid  tones,  as  she  tightened  the  grip  of  her 
pretty  fingers  upon  her  companion's  arm,  when  they 
walked  away  from  the  taffrail ;  where  they  had  lingered 
to  sniff  the  perfume  from  the  shore. 

"  Portugal  is  the  nearest  mainland,  and  that  is  eight 
hundred  miles  distant,"  replied  Raymond  absently ;  while 
wondering  just  how  much  such  expressive  hand-grips  were 
meant  to  disclose. 

"  Then  how  came  these  islands  way  out  here  in  the 
middle  of  the  ocean  ?  " 

"A  very  pertinent  question,  Miss  Allston.  We  are  over 
a  vast  volcanic  ocean-plateau,  which  is  steadily  rising  up 
in  the  middle  of  the  north  Atlantic,  and  which  extends 
from  the  Tropic  of  Cancer  to  50°  north  latitude  ;  the  only 
apex  of  the  plateau  culminating  in  the  Azores." 

"  How  deep  is  the  ocean  over  this  plateau  ? " 


164  The  Fleetwiiig. 

"  The  average  depth  is  about  two  thousand  feet,  and  it 
is  surrounded  by  a  channel  of  fifteen  thousand  feet ; 
separating  it  from  the  Madeira,  Canary,  and  Cape  Verd 
Islands." 

Mrs.  Talbert  now  drew  her  husband  across  the  deck, 
that  she  too  might  listen  to  the  conversation,  as  she 
looked  upon  Raymond  as  a  sort  of  encyclopedia  in  all 
maritime  matters. 

"Who  gave  the  islands  the  name  —  Azores  ?  " 

"  That  was  derived  from  the  countless  hawks  found 
here.  Acor  is  Portuguese  for  hawk,  the  English  of  which 
is  Azores.  Did  you  not  see  the  numerous  hawks  and 
buzzards  as  we  approached  the  shore  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  remember  how  they  swarmed  about  the  head 
land  we  rounded.  But  what  brings  them  here  ?  "  contin 
ued  Miss  Allston,  not  relishing  Mrs.  Talbert's  intrusion 
upon  her  tete-a-tete. 

"The  hakws  come  to  prey  upon  the  millions  of  smaller 
birds  which  are  yearly  wind-blown  from  the  coast.  Birds 
are  so  numerous  and  destructive  among  the  islands,  that 
at  St.  Michael's  there  is  a  reward  paid  yearly  for  killing 
four  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  birds ;  mostly  black 
birds,  redbreasts  and  canaries." 

"  How  many  islands  are  there  ?  " 

"  Nine  islands,  in  three  groups  ;  which  are  administered 
by  a  governor  and  two  deputies,  appointed  by  Portugal." 

"  Have  they  always  belonged  to  Portugal  ? "  inquired 
Mrs.  Talbert. 

"  No,  they  once  belonged  to  the  Moors.  They  were 
subsequently  known  as  the  'Flemish  Isles,'  and  were 
once  settled  by  that  people." 


The  Baby  Island.  165 

"  Oh,  my  !  were  they  ?  Do  tell  us  all  about  their  long, 
long  ago  history,"  exclaimed  both  ladies  in  varying 
phrases,  having  scented  an  unexpected  romance. 

"  The  Azores  are  generally  supposed  to  have  been  the 
Atalanta  Islands,  which  were  subjects  of  romance  and 
song  in  remote  antiquity.  They  were  said  to  have  been 
successfully  colonized  at  that  time,  but  subsequently  dis 
appeared  by  sinking  back  into  the  sea  whence  they  had 
emerged." 

"  Is  there  any  foundation  for  such  a  theory  as  islands 
disappearing  in  that  way  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  yes  ;  some  of  the  Azores  have  amused  themselves 
in  that  way  during  the  present  century,  which  serves  to 
give  color  to  the  Atalanta  romance.  In  the  year  1811,  a 
new  island  came  up  three  hundred  feet  out  of  the  sea 
near  St.  Michael,  and  was  submerged  after  a  few  months' 
existence  above  board.  The  new  island  was  called 
'Sabina,'  after  an  American  naval  ship,  whose  captain 
witnessed  the  birth  of  the  baby  island,  and  stood  sponsor 
to  the  volcanic  progeny. 

"The  Azores,  in  their  present  state,  were  unknown  to 
the  Greeks  or  Romans.  They  were  first  charted  by 
Arabian  navigators  during  the  twelfth  century.  The 
Arabs  called  them  the  '  Nine  Isles,'  or  the  '  Western 
Canaries.'  Old  Carthagenian  coins  are  still  found  at 
Corvo,  and  used  to  be  current  at  Flores,  evidence  that 
the  islands  were  once  occupied  by  that  people. 

"  Don  Henry  was  the  first  Portuguese  king  to  colonize 
the  Azores,  which  was  in  1432.  Half  a  century  later, 
Alphonso  V.  gave  the  islands  to  his  aunt,  the  Duchess  of 
Burgundy,  who  sent  out  a  strong  colony  of  Flemish 


1 66  77/r  l:lcctiving. 

artisans  and  soldiers  to  hold  rule  in  her  name;  hence 
they  continued  to  be  known  as  the  '  Flemish  Isles '  until 
1580.  Spain  got  possession  of  them  at  that  time  —  and 
of  Portugal  as  well  —  and  held  them  until  1640;  the 
Spanish  fleets  making  great  use  of  them  for  recruiting 
ports,  as  their  East  Indiamen  could  just  fetch  the 
Azores  when  standing  through  the  northeast  trades,  before 
they  tacked  east,  heading  for  Madrid  or  Lisbon. 

"  Because  of  their  commercial  value  at  that  time,  the 
English  naval  fleets,  under  the  piratical  captains  of 
Elizabeth's  time  —  such  as  Hawkins  and  Drake  —  came 
here  to  waylay  the  Spanish  Indiamen  ;  and  many  a  hard- 
fought  naval  battle  took  place  in  and  about  the  island 
ports." 

Four  bells  struck,  taking  the  cabin  group  by  surprise, 
so  pleasantly  had  the  hours  passed  while  listening  to 
Raymond's  instructive  talk.  Much  to  the  regret  of  Miss 
Allston,  Mrs.  Talbert  sprang  up  and  announced  that  it 
was  time  to  retire.  The  ladies  went  to  bed  with  the 
promise  of  landing  at  Santa  Cruz  in  the  morning. 

At  dawn,  while  preparations  were  being  made  for  going 
ashore  with  three  boats,  the  mast-heads-men  shouted 
vociferously  about  a  breach  seen  far  away  in  the  south. 
Captain  Talbert  came  out  and  ordered  the  ship  kept 
away  in  chase,  running  dead  before  the  wind.  Though 
there  was  a  seven-knot  breeze  from  the  northwest,  yet  when 
the  whale  was  next  seen  breaching,  he  seemed  to  be  a 
trifle  farther  off  than  before. 

After  a  three  hours'  run  the  whale  disappeared,  and 
was  seen  no  more  ;  though  studding-sails  were  set,  and 
the  ship's  speed  increased,  running  on  a  southeast  course 


The  Peak  of  Pico.  167 

during  the  whole  day.  At  night  the  ship  was  ninety 
miles  away  from  Flores,  and  she  was  kept  on  for  Fayal, 
then  about  sixty  miles  distant. 

At  daylight  the  Fleetvving  was  close  in  off  Camprida 
Point,  the  west  cape  of  Fayal,  and  the  course  was  shaped 
close  along  the  south  shore  of  the  well  cultivated  island, 
which  rose  3300  feet  before  them.  When  the  ladies 
came  out,  the  peak  of  Pico  was  seen  towering  7600  feet 
before  them,  about  thirty  miles  away. 

The  thrifty  land  along  which  the  fleet  ship  was  sailing 
was  everywhere  laid  out  in  grain  fields,  vineyards,  and 
gardens.  Though  vegetation  is  exceedingly  fruitful,  and 
rich  in  color,  showing  a  great  variety  of  fruit-bearing 
shrubs,  luxuriant  grasses,  and  fragrant  flowers,  which 
burdened  the  air  about  the  ship  with  perfume,  yet  there 
were  few  full-grown  trees  to  be  seen.  Orange,  lemon, 
apricot,  grape,  and  banana  were  the  common  fruit  seen 
growing  everywhere.  Fishermen  were  catching  mullet, 
tunny,  and  bonita,  as  the  ship  passed  their  boats. 

"  Where  is  the  port  ? "  asked  Miss  Allston,  after  she 
had  stood  spellbound  for  half  an  hour,  first  gazing  with 
reverence  upon  Pico's  lordly  peak,  gloriff&B  by  the  golden 
glint  of  the  rising  sun  behind  it;  then  turning  to  watch 
the  fast  varying  scene,  as  the  ship  swept  past  the  adjacent 
shore ;  a  bewitching  panorama  for  an  ocean  wanderer  to 
look  upon.  "  Where  is  the  port  ? "  she  repeated,  having 
been  too  much  absorbed  to  notice  the  captain's  reply  to 
her  first  question.  The  mate  was  bending  cables,  and 
getting  anchors  off  the  bows. 

"  Horta  is  twenty  miles  around  on  the  east  side  of  the 
island,"  replied  the  captain. 


1 68  The  Fleetwing. 

"  Is  Horta  the  chief  town  of  the  group  ? "  continued  the 
inquisitive  creature. 

"  No ;  Angra,  on  the  island  of  Terceira,  is  the  capital, 
where  the  governor  resides." 

"What  island  is  this?" 

"  Fayal." 

"  What  gave  it  that  name  ? " 

"  It  was  named  from  a  common  shrub,  called  'faya.'" 

"  What  curious  things  can  we  get  at  Horta,  as  presents 
for  friends  ? " 

The  people  are  excellent  basket-makers.  But  what  you 
ladies  will  most  prize  is  the  Fayal  lace,  as  the  women 
make  skilful  use  of  fibrous  threads  from  the  agave  for 
that  purpose.  They  also  knit  fanciful  open-work  stock 
ings  in  the  valley  of  Flemengos,  which  place  still  shows 
traces  of  the  Flemish  settlers  of  four  hundred  years 
ago.  You  will  notice,  when  you  land,  that  the  original 
Portuguese  are  greatly  mixed  with  Flemish  and  Moorish 
blood." 

At  nine  o'clock  the  ship  ran  into  the  bay  of  Horta. 
The  anchor  was  dropped,  the  sails  furled,  and  every  pre 
paration  made  -for  towing  the  sperm  oil  alongside  of  the 
New  Bedford  vessel  anchored  near  by,  waiting  to  freight 
home  the  catch  of  all  out-bound  ships  which  put  into 
Horta.  But  first  the  captain  must  go  ashore  and  "enter" 
the  ship  at  the  custom-house,  and  obtain  a  "  permit "  for 
trans-shipment,  without  landing  the  oil.  He  would  also 
ship  a  few  good  oarsmen  at  the  consular  office,  and  would 
leave  his  list  of  recruits  with  the  consul  who  made  an 
aside  business  of  furnishing  all  ship-chandler  stores,  from 
poor  wine  to  good  water ;  gaunt,  lean  pigs  with  the  legs  of 


Jack  "  Selling  Short"  169 

a  giraffe;  and,  from  pure  necessity,  fat  fowls  and  excel 
lent  potatoes. 

Before  the  ship  was  fairly  snugged  at  her  anchor,  the 
health  officer  came  aboard,  inquiring  for  a  "clean  bill  of 
health."  The  moment  this  official  left,  a  dozen  little  bum- 
boats  rushed  alongside,  eager  to  peddle  out  their  luscious 
fruits,  and  palatable  "jackass  cheeses."  These  traders 
were  followed  by  another  sort,  bringing  pretty-colored 
baskets,  birds,  and  many  other  novelties ;  taught  by  a 
ready-witted  experience  what  sailors  could  be  most  easily 
tempted  to  purchase,  their  stock  varying  from  squalling 
parrots,  to  cocoanuts  ingeniously  filled  with  rum,  which, 
oddly  enough,  entitled  its  purchaser  to  a  broken  nose,  or 
a  black  eye,  before  morning. 

When  just  out  from  home,  Jack's  financial  condition 
is  what  Wall  Street  terms  "  dead  broke."  Yet  the  noble 
fellow  is  not  above  assuming  the  Wall  Street  methods  of 
"  selling  short."  So  he  trades  off  his  last  plug  of  tobacco, 
his  only  jack-knife,  and,  if  he  is  not  provided  with  a  spare 
shirt,  he  does  not  hesitate  to  strip  to  his  underwear  and 
gallantly  dispose  of  the  only  shirt  from  his  back,  resorting 
to  his  banker,  the  slop-chest,  the  day  after  leaving  port, 
ready  to  mortgage  his  next  year's  wages  for  his  one  day's 
trading-fun  in  port. 

Several  whalers  were  seen  in  the  offing,  tacking  back 
and  forth  between  Fayal  and  Pico,  lying  off  and  on  for 
their  captains,  who  were  ashore  at  Horta,  shipping  men 
and  buying  recruits.  Large  native  barges  were  frequently 
seen  going  out  to  the  ships,  loaded  with  provisions,  and 
carrying  the  new  Portuguese  sailors,  who  sat  looking  rue 
fully  back  to  their  native  land.  The  boats  of  the  captains 


170  The  Fleetwing. 

soon  followed  the  barges,  and  ere  night,  one  by  one,  the 
whalers  took  in  their  recruits  and  sped  away  southward, 
once  more  refreshed  for  their  long  voyage. 

The  sperm  oil  was  safely  shipped  during  the  day,  by 
securing  beckets  to  the  casks,  dropping  them  overboard, 
and  towing  the  rafted  casks  to  the  freight-ship  near  at 
hand.  The  captain  and  ladies  spent  the  night  ashore, 
stopping  with  Dabney,  the  American  consul. 

Early  on  the  following  day,  a  water-boat  came  along 
side  to  replenish  the  ship's  empty  casks  and  scuttle-butt. 
Then  came  a  barge,  bringing  pigs  and  fowl,  potatoes,  and 
other  vegetables,  sufficient  to  fill  the  pens  and  coops,  to 
gether  with  fruit  enough  to  adorn  the  tops  and  backstays  for 
weeks  to  come,  not  forgetting  a  couple  of  large  milch 
goats,  white  and  clean-looking  animals,  adding  a  welcome 
luxury  to  the  cabin  table. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  the  cabin  people  came  off,  bring 
ing  a  young  doctor  with  them,  who  wished  to  reach  St. 
Michael's.  Raymond  received  orders  to  get  the  ship 
under-weigh  and  put  to  sea ;  and  the  men  at  once  manned 
the  windlass,  and  were  set  to  loosing  the  sails.  The  ladies 
had  enjoyed  their  run  ashore,  and  had  many  pleasant 
things  to  tell  of  the  quaint  people  they  met,  and  the 
strange  sights  they  had  seen. 

While  the  Fleetwing  was  taking  her  anchor,  the  barque 
Albion,  Captain  Norman,  came  round  the  point  and 
anchored  in  the  bay.  Two  of  the  whaler's  larboard  boats 
were  badly  stoven,  and  one  was  wholly  missing. 

Seeing  the  Fleetwing  preparing  to  leave  port,  Captain 
Norman  hastily  lowered  his  -starboard  boat  and  came  on 
board,  and  at  once  begged  Captain  Talbert  to  sell  him 


The  Demon  U  hale.  171 

one  of  his  seven  new  boats.  This  the  captain  declined  to 
do,  especially  as  there  were  two  new  whale-boats  lying  in 
Dabney's  yard  for  sale.  . 

The  Albion  had  been  fast  to  a  fighting  whale  out  on  the 
Flores  ground  the  same  day  the  Fleetwing  left  there,  re 
sulting  in  several  men  being  killed  and  wounded.  The 
whale  had  stoven  three  boats,  and,  night  coming  on,  he 
was  gladly  given  up.  He  left  with  two  lines  towing  after 
him,  and  when  last  seen  was  heading  off  towards  Flores. 
The  captains  agreed  that  the  breaching  whale  which 
enticed  the  Fleetwing  away  from  Flores,  might  be  the 
same  fellow,  wrought  to  frenzy  by  the  goading  irons  in  his 
side. 

This  startling  news  sent  a  thrill  of  horror  through  the 
the  crew  of  the  Fleetwing,  for  the  men  from  the  Albion 
entered  into  formidable  details  of  the  whale  fight.  They 
related  that  the  mate's  boat  had  been  stoven  by  an  up-cut 
of  the  jaw,  which  broke  the  keel  and  one  gunwale,  and 
wholly  demolished  one  side  of  the  boat.  The  second 
mate's  boat  received  a  down-stroke  of  the  flukes,  which  left 
her  in  precisely  the  condition  of  the  mate's  boat.  The 
bow  boat  was  so  completely  demolished  that  the  pieces 
were  not  picked  up.  The  whale  breached  out  fifty  feet 
above  the  boat,  and  fell  over  upon  the  crew,  killing  four 
men  outright,  and  wounding  the  third  mate  and  bowman 
by  breaking  the  legs  of  both. 

Captain  Norman  believed  he  had  encountered  the  de 
mon  whale,  Mocha  Dick.  He  described  the  gigantic 
creature  as  having  three  narrow  white  bands  down  his 
sid-j,  where  a  huge  devil-fish  had  clawed  him  from  the 
bunch  of  his  neck  down  beaft  his  starboard  fin,  As  a 


172  TJic  Flee twing. 

further  mark,  this  demon  whale  had  an  angular  piece 
bitten  out  of  his  larboard  fluke,  precisely  the  shape  of  a 
bite  from  the  bjll  of  a  large  octopus,  or  devil-fish,  such  as 
sperm  whales  encounter  on  the  bottom  of  the  deep  sea. 
The  officers  and  crew  were  evidently  thoroughly  demor 
alized  by  the  ugly  whale,  and  some  of  them  would  never 
get  over  it. 

As  the  ship  stood  out  of  the  harbor,  Captain  Norman 
said  good-by,  manned  his  boat,  and  pulled  ashore  at  Horta, 
doubly  saddened  by  his  ill-luck  after  meeting  the  Fleet- 
wing.  The  sun  was  just  tinting  the  peak  of  Pico  with  his 
good-night  beams  as  the  ship  broke  ground  from  the  rocky 
bottom  of  Horta,  and  stood  southward  to  clear  the  Pico 
shore,  on  her  way  to  St.  Michael's,  which  lay  east  south 
east,  one  hundred  ?>nd  sixty  miles  distant,  about  which 
the  Fleetwing  would  cruise  a  week,  looking  for  sperm 
whales  around  the  land  during  the  coming  full  moon. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

AMONG   A    SCHOOL   OF    COWS   AND   CALVES. 

T^HE  morning  after  leaving  Fayal  found  the  Fleetwing 
about  half  way  across  to  St.  Michael.  It  was  a  bright, 
cloudless  day,  the  sea  not  much  ruffled  by  the  five-knot 
breeze  then  blowing.  The  water  was  blue  as  indigo,  and, 
with  the  air  so  clear,  a  spout  would  show  white  as  milk 
anywhere  in  the  ken  of  the  eye. 

As  the  sun  rose,  tinting  the  royals  with  his  first  ray,  Mr. 
Bailey  ordered  the  mast-heads  manned,  himself  waiting  for 
the  mate  to  appear  before  he  took  his  trick  aloft.  Hoogley 
sprang  into  the  fore-rigging,  and  Tom  Crawford  mounted 
leisurely  up  the  main  shrouds,  both  men  climbing  aloft 
until  they  reached  their  high  perch  in  the  sky. 

Hoogley  stepped  into  the  topgallant  cross-trees,  and 
hailed  the  deck  to  have  the  fore-royal  lowered,  sweeping 
his  keen  eyes  about,  on  both  beams,  while  the  halyards 
were  slacked  away.  But  as  the  royal  yard  came  down 
upon  the  lifts  —  even  before  the  braces  were  hauled  taut 
—  he  wheeled  forward  to  look  ahead  of  the  ship,  and 
at  once  loudened  in  stentorian  voice  :  — 

"  There  she  blows  !  —  blows  —  blo-o-ows  !  " 

"  What  do  you  see  there,  John  ?  "  hailed  the  mate,  run 
ning  into  the  waist,  his  eyes  full  of  soapsuds  from  the 
ablution  he  was  just  then  undergoing. 


1 74  The  Fleetiving. 

"  A  school  of  small  whales,  sir,  right  ahead,  and  about 
two  miles  off." 

"  How  are  they  heading  ?  " 

"  A  trifle  off  from  where  we  head,  sir." 

And  as  old  Tom  had  also  been   bellowing  about  them. 

O 

in  a  voice  louder  than  old  Stentor  himself,  every  soul  fore 
and  aft  had  been  aroused,  and  the  men  were  seen  tumbling 
up  half  dressed  from  the  fore-scuttle  and  the  booby-hatch  — 
some  coming  with  a  pipe  in  one  hand  and  a  shoe  in  the 
other,  having  wakened  with  a  doubt  in  the  mind  as  to 
which  article  was  the  most  important  in  a  sudden  emer 
gency. 

Hastily  wiping  his  eyes,  and  tossing  his  towel  to  the 
cabin-boy,  Raymond  caught  up  the  spyglass  and  ran  aloft, 
hoping  to  get  a  look  at  the  whales  before  they  went  down. 
A  long,  sweeping  look  with  the  glass,  in  which  time  he 
had  covered  more  than  a  hundred  whales  in  its  field, 
satisfied  the  mate  that  they  were  a  body  of  still  whales, 
and  had  not  been  disturbed  by  the  ship,  as  he  had  feared. 
Hailing  the  deck,  he  shouted  :  — 

"  On  deck,  there  !  Call  out  all  hands,  and  make  ready 
the  boats.  Cook,  steward,  and  steerage-boy,  serve  your 
breakfast  at  once." 

"  What  sized  whales  are  they,  Mr.  Raymond  ? "  called 
the  captain,  who  was  slipping  into  his  roundabout,  as  he 
hastened  along  to  the  maintack. 

"Cows  and  calves,  sir.  A  big  school,  spread  over  all 
creation,  heading  about  a  point  off.  from  our  course." 

"  Haul  aback  when  you  think  we  are  near  enough." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir !  We  had  better  luff  one  point,  and  keep 
on  about  a  mile  farther." 


A  School  of  Whales.  175 

"  All  right.  Helm,  there  !  Luff  a  point,  and  keep  her 
steady  to  her  course." 

"  Luff  a  point,  sir  !  "  answered  old  Ben. 

A  shipkeeper  was  put  to  the  wheel,  and  another  sent 
aloft  to  relieve  Crawford.  Hoogley  was  sent  to  his  break 
fast,  and  all  those  belonging  to  the  boats.  When  the  last 
of  the  school  had  turned  flukes,  Raymond  gave  up  the 
lookout  to  the  cooper,  and  went  down  from  aloft.  Before 
going  in  to  his  breakfast,  he  saw  to  hauling  up  the  main 
sail,  and  ordered  the  main  yards  swung  aback. 

When  the  captain  and  officers  came  out,  the  four  boats 
were  hoisted  and  swung,  and  the  ship  lay  drifting,  waiting 
for  the  whales  to  come  up.  The  ladies  and  Dr.  Greeville 
sat  at  table  to  keep  company  with  Raymond  while  he  ate  ; 
all  three  boring  the  hungry  man  with  questions  about  the 
location,  and  the  kind  of  whales  he  had  seen. 

The  doctor,  a  young  Harvard  graduate,  somewhat  over 
worked  by  his  Alma  Mater,  took  occasion  to  ask  the  mate 
to  take  him  for  one  of  his  crew,  asserting  that  he  could 
pull  a  good  stroke  oar.  Raymond  had  not  yet  found 
time  to  form  a  favorable  opinion  of  the  too  exquisite 
young  dude,  and  so  put  him  off  for  the  present ;  more 
intent  upon  loading  up  with  flapjacks,  fried  bananas,  and 
coffee  enlivened  with  goat's  milk. 

Mrs.  Talbert  and  Miss  Allston  amused  themselves 
piling  up  the  most  palatable  dishes  about  Raymond's 
plate,  and  urging  him  with  persuasive  words  to  partake  of 
each.  This  occupatioB  and  pleasantry  were  suddenly 
brought  to  an  end  by  a  shout  from  the  mast-head  :  — 

"  Blows,  blows,  blows  !  The  school  is  up,  sir,  about  a 
mile  off,  three  points  out  on  the  lee  bow." 


176  The  Flcctwing. 

"  Stand  by  the  boats  !  "  shouted  the  captain,  adding  to 
the  mate,  who  came  rushing  from  the  cabin  with  his 
mouth  full  of  soft  tack  :  "  Don't  put  paddles  or  oars  into 
the  water  until  we  have  tried  them  with  sails  alone. 
Lower  away,  and  range  along  in  line  with  the  starboard 
boat." 

Once  in  the  water  with  oars  peaked  and  sails  set,  the 
boats  ran  down  within  an  eighth  of  a  mile  of  the  whales 
before  the  school  went  down.  For  nearly  half  an  hour 
the  four  dancing  boats  lay  in  a  long  line,  tossing  on  the 
spuming  crests  of  the  seas ;  their  sheets  eased  off,  and 
their  sails  gently  fluttering  in  the  breeze. 

The  officers  stood  balancing  themselves  upon  the  stern- 
sheets,  and  the  four  boat-steerers  were  mounted  on  the 
clumsy  cleats,  supported  by  the  boat's  warp  against  the 
uneasy  rise  and  fall  of  the  bow.  The  men  were  ordered 
to  keep  watch,  each  along  the  line  of  his  own  oar,  and 
officers  and  crews  were  alike  eager  to  catch  sight  of  the 
coming  whales.  School  whales  being  considered,  even  by 
the  timid  ones,  as  a  sort  of  boy's  play,  compared  with  the 
dreadful  encounters  when  hunting  the  monstrous  bulls. 

Suddenly  the  whole  school  came  up,  the  nearest  whales 
being  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away.  They  were  seen  in 
every  direction  over  all  the  great  prairie-land  of  the  sea, 
until  every  billow  seemed  alive  with  the  gray  heads  of 
sperm  whales,  whose  mist-white  spouts  shot  upward  and 
drifted  a-lee,  like  vapory  ghosts  creeping  along  the  hollow 
trough  of  the  seas.  » 

The  whales  were  gathered  in  clusters  and  pods,  of  five 
and  ten ;  and  in  larger  groups  of  fifty.  The  motherly 
cows  and  nursling  calves  slowly  wallowed  through  the 


The  \Vhalc  Charmer.  177 

azure  sea  ;  the  sunlight  flashing  from  their  shining  backs, 
like  the  far-reaching  glitter  of  a  thousand  mirrors.  Thus 
herded  together  in  countless  numbers,  they  were  swayed 
here  and  there  on  a  devious  course  by  a  few  chosen  lead 
ers,  like  the  banded  buffalo  of  the  western  plain.  By 
what  magical  power  of  ruling  one  or  more  leaders  can 
sway  such  a  vast  assemblage  of  leviathans  none  can  tell. 

On  seeing  the  whales,  the  boats  all  kept  away  before 
the  wind  together.  At  first  Raymond  and  Braybrook 
were  nearest  to  the  school.  Presently  a  pod  of  large 
cows  straggled  behind  the  school,  directly  in  front  of  Mr. 
Bailey ;  while  the  whales  near  to  the  waist-boat  now 
forged  quickly  ahead  out  of  the  reach  of  Braybrook,  as  if 
they  were  frightened.  Uncle  Joe  saw  his  chance,  eased 
off  his  sheet  and  kept  away  for  a  large  fat  cow,  the  most 
tempting  prize  of  the  twenty  whales  before  him. 

Cape  Verd  Jose  stood  in  the  bow  counting  his  beads, 
kissing  his  cross,  and  mentally  calling  upon  one  of  his 
island  saints.  His  boat  approached  the  whale  with  the 
utmost  caution,  none  speaking  above  a  whisper,  and  when 
they  were  three  spouts  away,  Uncle  Joe  began  to  admon 
ish  his  black  barbarian  how  to  conduct  himself  :  — 

"  Stan'  by  dere,  yo'  big  niggar,  an'  tuck  yer  iron  in  yer 
flippers.  Brace  yer  brack  leg  inter  de  clumsy  cleat  an' 
git  redcly ;  but  doan  yer  dart  till  yer  ole  fader  teld  yer. 
Trus'  in  St.  Antonio,  ef  yer  wan'ter ;  but  doan  yer  furgit 
dat  Joe  Bailey  is  pehind  yer." 

Uncle  Joe's  face  now  became  illuminated  with  a  weird, 
strange  delight  as  he  approached  the  whale.  His  one 
soft  eye  was  fixed  immovably  upon  his  prey  ;  his  thick 
lips  moved  rapidly  in  mute  pantomimic  prayer,  while  his 


1 78  The  Wcctwing. 

whole  being  was  centred,  as  by  strong  fascination,  upon 
the  one  dark  object  before  him.  The  only  sound  heard 
above  the  audible  heart-beats  in  the  boat  was  a  low  gut 
tural  clucking,  made  deep  down  in  Bailey's  throat,  some 
thing  like  the  cluck  of  a  setting  hen.  Such  was  the  as 
pect  of  the  long,  gaunt  face  of  the  man  while  in  the  act  of 
charming  a  whale,  when  once  he  could  get  within  fascinat 
ing  distance  of  him.  Slowly  and  steadily  the  doomed 
whale  straggled  behind  her  companions,  and  would  soon 
be  within  reach  of  the  irons  of  the  fateful  old  whale- 
hunter. 

The  boat  was  steered  noiselessly  along  in  the  whale's 
wake  until  very  near  to  her :  then,  with  a  small  motion  of 
his  oar,  Uncle  Joe  kept  away  over  the  corner  of  the  flukes, 
shot  ahead  along  the  small,  luffed  in  forward  of  the  hump 
of  the  half-slumbering  cow  ;  and  then  came  the  word  :  — 

"  Tuck  in  de  irons  dar,  Jose  !  an'  lemme  see  ef  dar's 
eny  good  niggar  blood  in  yer  bones." 

Instantly  the  two  keen  barbs  were  plunged  fair  into  the 
life  of  the  whale,  and  the  whole  universe  seemed  flashing 
with  the  fins  and  flukes  of  departing  whales.  The  school 
was  gone  in  a  twinkling.  Jose  had  been  taken  square  up 
to  the  life,  and  he  had  done  his  work  well.  Henceforth 
the  black  Portuguese  of  the  bow-boat  was  held  in  high 
esteem  by  Uncle  Joe,  whose  great  experience  enabled  him 
to  appreciate  a  good  job  of  this  kind. 

The  whale  had  been  so  shocked  by  the  two  irons  in  her 
lungs  that  she  neither  sounded  nor  sought  to  escape  by 
following  the  retreating  school ;  but  lay  motionless,  spout 
ing  away  her  life-blood  on  the  azure  sea. 

When  the  boats  were  approaching  the  school,  Raymond 


Fast  Boats.  179 

saw  that  he  was  a  trifle  nearer  than  Uncle  Joe  ;  and  with 
a  view  to  striking  two  whales,  he  adroitly  eased  off  his 
sheet  so  that  the  two  boat-steerers  could  dart  at  the  same 
instant.  His  effort  was  well  timed,  though  Jose's  iron 
struck  first,  which  caused  Hoogley  to  dart  at  some  disad 
vantage,  for  his  whale  kicked  before  the  second  iron  could 
be  got  in. 

It  did  not  take  long  for  Raymond's  whale  to  recover 
from  her  surprise.  Aroused  to  self-preservation,  she  be 
came  frantic  with  maternal  instinct  to  save  the  young  calf 
at  her  side.  Though  distracted  with  pain  and  confused 
by  fear,  the  brave  cow  threw  her  left  fin  over  the  baby 
whale,  and  plunged  below,  rushing  on  after  the  retreating 
herd. 

When  the  school  came  up,  the  fast  whale  was  seen  in 
their  midst  with  her  calf  on  her  back.  She  had  suc 
ceeded  in  attracting  the  sympathy  of  the  whole  tumultuous 
mass  of  panic-stricken  leviathans,  who  now  sought  to  aid 
their  distressed  companion,  each  after  her  own  method. 

It  had  now  become  a  moment  of  peculiar  peril  for  the 
fast  boat  and  her  crew.  Dragged  by  the  frantic  effort  of 
the  wounded  cow  among  a  great  snarl  of  excited  whales, 
all  rushing  helter-skelter  in  different  directions,  in  search 
of  the  object  of  their  solicitude,  both  maddened  and 
frightened  by  the  piteous  appeals  of  the  mother-whale,  it 
seemed  impossible  to  escape  such  a  many-headed  danger. 

The  boat  was  menaced  by  the  constant  uprising  of  new 
comers  from  out  the  hidden  depths,  which  often  emerged 
in  dangerous  proximity  ahead,  alongside,  or  beneath  the 
boat.  Some  came  rushing  to  the  rescue  with  their  great 
heads  beating  furiously  upon  the  sea  as  they  ran.  Some 


i8o  The  Flcetii'iug. 

thrust  their  heads  out  twenty  feet  above  the  boat,  glaring 
fiercely  about  for  some  object  to  assail.  Some  hysterical 
mother-cows  leaped  wholly  out  of  the  water,  falling  crash 
ing  back  upon  whatever  lay  beneath,  in  aimless  endeavor 
to  show  their  zeal  for  the  suffering  cow,  and  protect  their 
own  calves,  which  are  sometimes  killed  by  the  falling 
mother. 

It  was  a  crucial  test  for  the  best  human  courage.  A 
trial  such  as  bravery  built  upon  false  assumption  cannot 
withstand.  But  to  the  constitutionally  brave,  the  tempes- 
tudus  bustle  of  such  appalling  danger  becomes  the  source 
of  wildest  rapture.  Raymond  possessed  one  of  those 
peculiar  temperaments  which  cools  as  danger  thickens, 
and  becomes  most  calm  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight.  To 
him  it  seemed  an  opportunity  to  win  the  final  whaling 
triumph  of  his  life ;  the  novelty  and  variety  of  dangers 
simply  appealed  to  his  ingenuity  to  defeat  them. 

Instead  of  slacking  line  and  trying  to  escape,  when  he 
found  himself  among  such  a  tumult  of  panic-stricken 
beasts,  Raymond  stripped  to  his  shirt-sleeves,  got  out  his 
two  lances,  and  prepared  for  slaughter.  With  lance  in 
hand,  he  called  to  his  boat-steerer,  and  spoke  a  word  of 
cheer  to  his  men  :  — 

"  Now,  John,  here's  the  chance  to  win  our  spurs.  Are 
you  ready  ?  " 

"All  ready,  sir!"  and  Hoogley's  eyes  flashed  with 
delight,  as  he  grappled  his  steering  oar  and  waited  for 
orders. 

"  Tom,  stand  by  to  bow  me  on.  Buntline,  and  the  rest 
of  you,  take  your  oars  and  be  ready.  Keep  your  ears 
open,  and  work  lively ;  for  there  must  be  no  mistake  in 
the  stroke  of  an  oar." 


Stern  for  your  Lives  !  I£T 

"  All  right,  sir  !  "  answered  brave  old  Tom  ;  which  was 
echoed  by  stolid  but  fearless  Ben. 

"  Haul  line,  Tom  !  Hoogley,  sheer  the  boat  alongside 
of  that  big  cow  lying  athwart  our  hawse." 

And  the  line  was  gathered  quickly  in,  while  Hoogley 
put  his  whole  strength  against  the  steering  oar  to  swing 
the  boat  hard  a-port.  With  his  leg  braced  in  the  clumsy 
cleat,  Raymond  gathered  himself  for  a  dart ;  when  up 
breached  a  whale  close  ahead  of  the  boat,  rising  thirty 
feet  above  them,  with  the  line  caught  on  her  fin  ;  threaten 
ing  to  fall  across  the  bow  if  the  boat  was  not  stopped  on 
the  instant. 

"  Slack  line,  Tom  !  Stern  all,  Ben  !  Stern  for  your  lives, 
boys ! "  Tom  and  the  mate  both  sprang  instinctively  to 
the  forward  oars,  to  get  sternway. 

Down  came  the  whale  across  the  two  larboard  oars ;  her 
head  falling  just  clear  of  the  bow,  partly  owing  to  the 
timely  sweep  of  Hoogley's  oar,  which  just  swerved  the 
head  of  the  boat  clear  of  the  falling  whale,  and  saved  the 
lives  of  Raymond  and  Crawford. 

Though  a  fountain  of  falling  water  nearly  filled  the 
boat,  Raymond  saw  his  opportunity,  caught  up  his  lance, 
and  set  it  square  down  into  the  life  of  the  breaching  brute 
as  she  rose  to  spout,  close  under  the  head  of  his.  boat.  A 
rich  red  blood  belched  forth,  ere  the  lance  could  be  with 
drawn.  The  other  cow,  which  he  had  previously  tried  for, 
now  lay  just  beyond,  side  by  side  with  the  dying  whale ; 
in  went  the  lance  into  her  side,  darted  across  the  back  of 
the  near  whale,  and  the  pair  of  dying  cows  jogged  slowly 
out  of  the  school  together,  their  gory  spouts  reddening 
the  foamy  sea  where  the  breaching  whale  had  fallen. 


1 82  The  Flectwing. 

A  new  division  of  oars  had  to  be  made  from  the  three- 
oar  side  ;  then  again  the  boat  was  hauled  ahead  by  the 
line.  The  snarl  of  leaping,  rolling  whales  now  became 
thicker  than  ever  about  the  fast  boat.  Some  lay  with 
their  heads  thrust  out  over  the  backs  of  others,  tossing 
and  squirming  their  lithe  bodies  about  like  eels. 

Just  ahead  of  the  boat  were  two  large  cows,  with  small 
calves  at  their  sides.  They  were  lying  on  each  side  of 
the  line,  which  thrashed  up  and  down  between  them 
whenever  the  boat  rose  on  a  sea.  These  whales  were 
nearly  a  boat's  length  apart ;  room  enough  for  passing ; 
but  as  the  calves  were  on  the  off  side  of  the  cows,  both 
whales  would  strike  on  the  side  toward  the  boat,  in  fear 
of  harming  their  young.  The  probability  of  a  stoven 
boat  could  be  avoided  by  going  outside  of  this  pair.  But 
as  danger  was  not  an  element  of  much  weight  in  Ray 
mond's  calculations,  it  never  occurred  to  him  to  be  satis 
fied  with  one  whale,  wholly  exempt  from  danger,  and  his 
choice  was  made  for  two  or  none  ! 

"  Be  quick  with  your  oars,  there,  Buntline.  Overboard 
with  the  broken  ones,  and  ship  out  the  harponier  for  a 
tub-oar." 

"  All  ready  with  the  oars,  sir,"  answered  Ben. 

"  Haul  ahead,  Tom  !    Take  your  oar,  Hoogley." 

"  Inside  or  outside  of  them  uns,  sir?"  asked  the  boat- 
steerer. 

"  What,  John ;  don't  ask  foolish  questions.  'Tween 
'em,  of  course,  and  give  me  a  set  at  them  both.  Steer  for 
the  starboard  one  first;  and  then,  my  boy,  lively  is  the 
word,  for  the  other.  Hold  the  bow  steady  while  I  lance 
'em,  and  I'll  answer  for  the  kicking." 


Brave  Hoogley.  183 

"Ay,  ay,  sir!"  and  brave  Hoogley  entered  into  the 
spirit  of  the  thing  with  a  chuckle  of  delight.  Buntline 
rapped  the  tub-oarsman  over  the  head,  for  gawking  round 
at  the  whales;  muttering  between  his  teeth:  "Mind  yer 
oar,  greenhorn  ;  the  mate'll  boss  the  for'ard  job,  widout 
yer  help." 

The  boat  ran  noiselessly  in  between  the  whales,  and 
down  went  the  lance  with  good  result  into  the  right-hand 
one,  and  up  went  the  flukes  of  both  whales.  But  Tom 
held  the  boat  too  far  forward  for  the  stern  to  be  reached, 
though  the  steering  oar  was  broken  into  three  pieces  by 
the  ferocious  thrashing  of  the  port  whale's  tail.  The  port 
whale  caught  her  calf  under  her  fin,  and  pitched  to  go 
down ;  but  with  a  long  dart  Raymond  "  pitch-poled " 
his  lance  into  the  retreating  cow,  with  doubtful  result,  as 
she  was  well  under  water.  In  about  two  minutes  the  calf 
came  up,  soon  followed  by  the  mother  whale,  who  had 
become  too  sick  to  attend  to  her  baby,  for  she  was 
spouting  thick  blood. 

A  wild  shout  broke  from  the  crew,  joined  by  even  the 
timid  tub  oarsman,  who  had  already  learned  to  fear  Ben's 
big  hand  more  than  the  kick  of  a  whale.  Brave  Hoogley 
lay  in  a  half-faint,  slumped  down  in  the  stern-sheets.  The 
loom  of  the  broken  steering-oar  had  struck  him  in  the 
chest,  and  knocked  the  breath  from  his  body.  Slacking 
the  line  out  sufficiently  to  clear  the  boat  from  the  whales, 
Raymond  went  aft  to  examine  the  boat-steerer.  As  there 
were  no  bones  broken,  only  a  big,  black  bruise,  a  few 
minute  doses  of  arnica  were  administered  to  overcome 
the  nerve-shock,  and  John  was  bid  to  keep  quiet. 

Tom  Crawford  was  sent  aft  to  rig  out  the  midship  oar 


1 84  The  Fleetwing. 

to  steer  by,  and  Raymond  took  little  Bob  Cross,  the  cabin- 
boy,  forward  to  bow  the  line,  as  there  was  now  no  further 
use  for  a  stroke  oar.  Only  a  tub  and  midship  oar  could 
be  manned,  all  others  being  broken.  The  whole  school 
now  went  down,  including  the  fast  whale.  Sounding  and 
running,  they  kept  down  nearly  half  an  hour,  which  gave 
the  whales  time  to  overcome  their  panic.  This  was  de 
termined  by  quickening  their  speed  to  a  brisk  run,  which 
could  not  have  occurred  without  straightening  out  the 
snarl. 

About  this  time  Captain  Talbert  pulled  up  and  fastened 
to  one  of  the  first  two  whales  seen  spouting  blood,  throw 
ing  a  drug-iron  into  the  other,  with  a  waif  attached,  in 
case  the  loose  whale  should  straggle  away  before  she  died. 
Braybrook  secured  the  third  whale,  which  was  heading 
directly  away  from  the  others.  Uncle  Joe,  whose  whale 
had  "  turned  up  "  and  lay  with  a  flag-staff  in  her  side,  now 
took  to  his  oars  and  pulled  down  and  fastened  to  Ray 
mond's  fourth  whale. 

When  the  fast  whale  came  up,  the  whole  school  had 
become  quite  orderly.  The  whales  had  broken  up  into 
three  separate  pods.  Six  small  cows  with  calves  were  stili 
attached  to  the  mate's  whale,  having  greater  maternal 
sympathy  for  her  than  the  older  dams,  which  had  con 
cluded  to  look  out  for  themselves,  and  take  care  of  their 
own  babies,  and  let  their  wounded  neighbor  shift  for 
herself  —  an  almost  human  conclusion. 

The  school  was  now  racing  away  to  windward,  and 
passed  close  astern  of  the  ship,  so  near  that  the  ladies 
hailed  Raymond  to  ask  where  Hoogley  was.  Tom  pointed 
down  under  his  legs,  where  the  boat-steerer's  pale  face 


The  Drugged  Whale.  185 

was  seen  with  a  ghastly  grin  on  i.is  lips,  while  Raymond 
answered  :  — 

'*  John  is  taking  a  watch  below,  as  we  now  stand  watch- 
and-watch  aboard  of  this  craft." 

A  shudder  crept  through  the  feminine  frames,  as  the 
women  witnessed  the  blood-stained  condition  of  the  mate 
and  his  crew,  with  the  added  fear  that  perhaps  the  brave 
Malay  was  lying  there  maimed  for  life. 

About  a  third  of  the  line  had  been  sounded  out. 

The  men  had  been  hauling  lustily  while  the  boat  was 
spinning  on  after  the  school,  and  were  still  grappled  to 
the  line,  gathering  it  in  hand  over  hand,  in  fear  the  whales 
would  sound  again.  The  boat  approached  close  upon  the 
hindmost  whales,  the  fast  whale  having  dashed  ahead 
among  the  very  foremost  of  the  herd.  This  promised 
another  chance  for  the  mate  to  ply  his  lance,  while  the 
boat  passed  through  the  hind  tier  of  cows,  all  of  which 
had  calves  snuggled  close  up  to  their  "  smalls,"  with  the 
flukes  of  the  young  ones  lapped  against  the  mother- 
whales. 

As  the  school  was  running  fast,  the  mate  got  out  a  drug- 
iron,  hoping  to  hamper  one  of  the  loose  whales  so  she 
would  slack  astern,  and  perhaps  be  caught  by  one  of  the 
other  boats.  The  boat  slid  alongside  of  a  fat  young  cow, 
big  with  calf,  which  was  making  laborious  work,  keeping 
along  with  the  rest.  A  good  lance  was  thrown,  and 
brought  blood ;  then  the  drug-iron  was  flung  into  her  as 
she  shot  quickly  ahead.  This  had  the  effect  to  speed  up 
the  whole  school,  all  but  the  drugged  whale,  which  soon 
straggled  astern  and  was  secured  by  the  waist-boat. 

As  there   were   no  other  whales   in   reach  of  the  boat, 


1 86  Tlie  Flectiving. 

Raymond  hauled  ahead  to  kill  the  fast  whale.  Before  he 
could  reach  her,  a  young  cow  came  up,  and  the  two 
quickened  their  speed,  running  side  by  side,  each,  Laving 
a  small  calf  riding  "pig-back,"  clinging  fast  to  the 
"  small." 

With  lance  in  hand,  the  mate  approached  the  loose 
whale,  greatly  elated  at  this  unexpected  luck.  But  the 
timid  creature  became  frightened,  settled  under  water, 
and  disappeared.  Supposing  she  had  gone  for  good, 
Raymond  hauled  on  and  lanced  the  fast  whale,  which 
immediately  checked  her  speed.  The  little  calf  dropped 
off  from  his  perch,  and  for  a  time  kept  close  alongside 
of  the  boat.  Tom  patted  the  pretty  creature  on  his 
back,  and  humorous  old  Ben  put  his  hat  on  the  baby's 
head. 

Suddenly  the  loose  cow  rose  near  the  boat,  probably 
attracted  by  some  piteous  signal  from  the  calf,  which 
manifested  considerable  distress  for  its  dying  mother, 
which  paid  no  attention  to  her  almost  orphaned  babe. 
Instantly  Raymond  caught  up  his  lance  from  the  crotch, 
and  with  a  cry  of  delight  thrust  it  into  the  breast  of  the 
rolling  cow,  as  she  turned  fin  out  at  the  head  of  his  boat. 
A  swift  shudder  ran  through  her,  showing  she  had  received 
her  death ;  and  she  died  with  no  other  motion  but  a 
quiver  of  the  upraised  fin,  and  a  spasmodic  curling  up  of 
the  corners  of  the  flukes.  This  was  Raymond's  seventh 
whale.  Six  of  his  captives  were  still  spouting  blood  to 
leeward,  though  the  first  two  were  at  that  moment  thrash 
ing  about  in  their  flurry.  The  fast  whale  ran  on  half  a 
mile  to  windward,  and  then  in  a  spasm  of  distress  rolled 
up  with  both  fins  out.  The  boat  was  hauled  up  quickly, 


The  Two  Orphans.  187 

and  a  lance  put  down  between  her  fins,  which  killed  her 
in  a  few  minutes. 

A  hole  was  cut  in  the  edge  of  the  spout-hole,  a  tow- 
rope  attached,  sail  set  upon  the  boat,  and  the  dead  whale 
was  towed  down  to  the  other  whale  half  a  mile  to  leeward. 
The  moaning  calf  was  sometimes  running  with  the  boat, 
and  at  other  times  nestling  against  the  side  of  his  dead 
mother. 

The  lantern  keg  was  got  out,  the  head  extracted,  and 
all  hands  fell  to  upon  the  hardtack,  ravenous  as  bears. 
Even  Hoogley  roused  up  and  showed  an  interest  in  the 
occasion,  by  soaking  a  biscuit  in  the  sea  and  nibbling 
painfully  at  it ;  for  arms,  shoulders,  and  jaws  were  made 
stiff  and  lame  from  his  hurt. 

Tears  being  discovered  on  old  Ben's  corrugated  cheeks, 
wiggling  in  and  out  among  the  rough  furrows,  with  other 
tears  grouped  in  mournful  companionship  on  the  end  of 
his  red  nose,  Raymond  sought  to  elicit  the  source  of  the 
old  veteran's  grief  :  — 

"  What's  up  with  you,  Ben  ? " 

"  Please,  sir,  I  wus  jus'  thinkin',  me  an'  this  little  un 
am  both  orphans  togedder,"  and  the  weeping  old  salt 
stroked  the  back  of  the  baby  whale,  with  a  guttural, 
gurgling  noise  in  his  throat,  which  was  meant  for  a  sob  ; 
but,  by  mistake,  sounded  like  water  gurgling  from  a  bung- 
hole.  Nevertheless,  it  was  a  genuine  grief,  the  comical 
upheaval  of  a  tender  heart,  now  fifty  years  an  orphan. 

And  brave  Ben  Buntline  laid  his  frosted  head  on  the 
gunwale  and  wept  like  a  child.  His  senile  grief  was 
contagious,  for  Tom  patted  his  loved  shipmate  on  the 
back,  and  bade  him  not  make  a  fool  of  himself ;  but  Tom's 


1 88  The  Flcctwing. 

voice  also  choked,  and  his  eyes  grew  red,  and  he  found  it 
best  to  mind  his  own  business,  and  not  disturb  the  two 
mourners  —  the  orphaned  whale  and  orphaned  man  —  and 
Tom  went  back  to  eating  hardtack;  and  the  toddy 
blossoms  on  his  huge  nose  bloomed  out  redder  than  ever. 

When  the  boat  reached  the  leeward  cow,  she  too  was 
taken  in  tow  ;  and  the  sail  was  trimmed  so  as  to  lay  for 
the  ship.  The  Fleetwing  was  over  a  mile  off,  just  then, 
taking  the  last  of  the  six  dead  whales  alongside.  In  a 
little  while  Braybrook  and  Bailey  were  seen  pulling  to 
windward  to  help  tow  the  larboard  boat's  whales  to  the 
ship. 

After  an  hour's  towing,  the  eight  whales  were  all  fluke- 
chained  alongside,  and  the  hands  were  turned  off  to 
dinner.  The  ladies  could  hardly  be  induced  to  go  in  to 
their  meal,  having  become  so  interested  in  the  two 
orphaned  whales,  which  kept  nosing  round  among  the 
dead  cows,  seeking  to  find  one  whale  yet  in  the  quick. 
The  noble-hearted  Braybrook  had  lanced  and  killed  the 
tiny  calf  which  followed  one  of  his  whales ;  but,  perhaps, 
like  poor  Ben,  he  could  not  bear  to  be  reminded  of  his 
own  orphanage. 

The  heads  of  all  these  whales  were  cut  square  off  at  the 
neck-joint,  and  hove  in  whole,  jaw  and  all,  which  made  much 
quicker  work  in  cutting  them  in.  A  good  two  days  were 
occupied  before  the  eight  heads  were  bailed  and  cut  up, 
and  the  empty  cases  pitched  overboard.  Every  Jack  was 
allowed  a  half  dozen  teeth  to  carve  or  carry  home  to  his 
friends ;  and  all  were  given  pieces  of  the  jaws  for  making 
white-bone  canes;  while  to  the  ladies  and  the  doctor  it 
was  a  scene  of  great  novelty,  watching  the  officers  dis- 


The  Royal  Anointing.  189 

seating  the  whales'  heads.  A  tubful  of  the  odorous 
spermaceti  was  taken  into  the  lower  cabin  for  the  child 
and  ladies  to  bathe  in  —  an  old-time  royal  anointing, 
which  only  required  the  simple  addition  of  crowning  to 
make  queens  of  them  all. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

THE    PERFIDIOUS    ALBION. 

THROUGH  the  best  of  lookouts  had  been  kept  while 
boiling  on  the  whales,  and  the  Fleetwing  had  trav 
ersed  the  whole  ground  over  and  over,  sailing  a  hundred 
miles  each  way,  yet  not  the  spout  of  a  whale  had  been 
seen  since  the  departure  of  the  school. 

The  whales  of  the  last  catch  were  turning  out  well ; 
they  varied  from  twenty-five  to  forty  barrels,  making  an 
average  of  thirty-five  barrels  each.  This  made  the  Fleet- 
wing's  whole  catch  since  sailing  amount  to  five  hundred 
and  twenty  barrels  ;  a  showing  rarely  equalled  so  early  in 
a  ship's  voyage. 

Captain  Talbert  had  decided  to  go  back  into  Horta  and 
ship  his  last  catch  by  the  home-bound  vessel,  if  he  could 
reach  port  before  she  sailed,  and  had  given  orders  to  head 
round  towards  Fayal  early  in  the  morning. 

The  Albion  had  come  in  sight  during  the  afternoon. 
Captain  Norman  ran  down  to  speak  the  Fleetwing  just 
before  dark,  and  came  aboard  and  spent  the  evening. 
He  had  secured  a  new  lot  of  boats  at  Fayal,  and  his  offi 
cers  had  regained  their  spirits,  and  were  now  eager  to 
tackle  another  whale.  Considerable  surprise  was  ex 
pressed  when  they  spoke  the  Fleetwing  and  their  captain 
hailed  with  the  usual  technism :  — 

190 


The  Gam.  191 

"  Hope  to  see  you  very  well,  Captain  Talbert  ? " 

"  Very  well,  I  thank  you.     How  is  Captain  Norman  ? " 

"A  little  more  hopeful  than  when  we  last  met.  Got 
any  more  big  whales  lately  ? "  he  asked,  with  a  jolly  laugh 
at  his  own  futile  joke ;  without  a  thought  that  the  Fleet- 
wing  had  taken  whales  since  leaving  port. 

"  No  large  whales.  But  we  have  taken  eight  fat  cows 
since  seeing  you,"  was  answered  with  a  genuine  effort  not 
to  appear  elated. 

"  The  devil  you  have  !  Where  in  thunder  did  you  find 
'em  ? " 

"  Right  about  here.  Come  aboard,  and  we'll  tell  you 
all  about  it." 

"  Thank  you.  I'll  come,  if  you  will  give  me  a  scrap  for 
luck." 

It  is  not  a  pleasant  event  when  an  unlucky  whaler 
meets  a  lucky  one.  Birds  of  a  feather  lake  a  deal  more 
comfort  in  condoling  together.  Every  effort  was  made  to 
cheer  up  Captain  Norman's  drooping  spirits  during  the 
evening,  and  with  apparent  success,  until  he  asked  Tal 
bert  to  "  mate "  with  the  Albion  while  they  kept  corn- 
pan}'.  This  request  was  refused,  as  Captain  Talbert  was 
a  little  superstitious  about  tampering  with  his  present 
good  fortune  by  joining  chances  with  such  an  unlucky 
ship.  Norman  showed  a  little  petulance  at  this  denial, 
and  soon  asked  to  have  his  boat  manned,  and  went 
aboard  of  his  own  ship.  To  soften  the  matter,  Mrs.  Tal 
bert  asked  Captain  Norman  to  take  supper  with  them  the 
next  day  at  six,  and  he  accepted. 

During  the  following  day,  the  two  ships  cruised  towards 
Fayal,  keeping  about  five  miles  apart.  Late  in  the  after- 


192  The  Fleetwing. 

noon,  the  Albion  began  to  close  up  with  the  Fleetwing,  to 
be  in  position  for  the  captain  to  avail  himself  of  his  invita 
tion  to  tea.  The  vessels  had  approached  within  two  miles 
of  each  other  when  a  spout  was  "  raised  "  from  the  mast 
heads  of  both  ships  at  the  same  time. 

The  spout  proved  to  be  that  of  a  large  sperm  whale, 
about  two  miles  off,  directly  ahead  of  the  Albion,  which 
was  the  lee  ship,  and  would  have  had  no  chance  at  the 
whale  but  for  this  unlucky  invitation  to  tea.  As  it  was, 
the  two  ships  had  an  equal  chance,  and  it  would  have 
been  best  to  have  "  mated,"  as  half  a  whale  is  better  than 
none. 

To  increase  his  chance,  Captain  Talbert  ordered  all  sail 
put  upon  the  ship  ;  the  topgallant-sails  and  royals  having 
been  furled  in  courtesy  to  Captain  Norman,  whose  vessel 
could  not  otherwise  have  kept  up  with  his  invitation  to 
tea.  Owing  to  her  superior  sailing,  the  Fleetwing's  boats 
were  in  position  to  lower  first,  and  they  peaked  their  oars, 
and  sailed  carefully  down  towards  the  whale.  Captain 
Talbert  remained  on  board  to  direct  his  three  boats  from 
the  masthead. 

The  Albion's  boats  were  soon  lowered,  'and,  with 
marked  discourtesy,  took  to  their  oars,  as  well  as  sails,  at 
the  risk  of  gallying  the  whale.  Raymond  had  been  de 
layed,  in  lowering,  by  a  kink  in  his  boat-tackle  getting 
jammed  in  the  davit-head ;  which  mishap  gave  Braybrook 
the  lead,  and  he  got  a  good  start  ahead  of  the  Albion's 
boats,  and  felt  sure  of  his  prize. 

Captain  Norman's  boat  was  the  leading  one  from  his 
ship,  and  by  the  aid  of  oars  he  came  bowling  down  to 
Braybrook,  compelling  the  latter  to  also  take  oars  to  pre- 


TJic  Perfidious  Albioii.  193 

vent  Norman's  boat  going  past  him.  Braybrook  was  mad 
all  through,  and  with  many  an  oath  against  his  competitor, 
urged  the  crew  to  desperate  work  at  the  oars.  Thus  the 
two  boats  approached  the  whale,  Braybrook  keeping  the 
lead ;  and  though  Norman  saw  that  he  could  by  no  possi 
bility  gain  the  chance,  he  persisted  in  keeping  up  the 
race.  When  within  two  spoutings,  the  whale  heard  the 
rattle  of  rowlocks,  wheeled  suddenly  about  with  his  eye 
fair  upon  the  boats,  gave  a  knowing  wiggle  with  his  hump, 
and,  without  any  apparent  effort,  sank  like  a  stone,  and 
was  gone  in  an  instant.  Not  even  the  masthead  lookouts 
saw  anything  more  of  him.  Braybrook  lay  hove  up  a 
while,  but  Norman  pulled  back  to  his  ship. 

Captain  Talbert  had  seen  the  whole  affair  from  the  mast 
head,  and  was  very  indignant  about  it.  He  soon  made 
a  signal  of  recall  for  the  boats,  and  stood  close  clown  past 
the  Albion  to  pick  them  up.  When  the  boats  were  hoisted, 
the  yards  were  braced  forward,  and  the  Fleetwing  sped 
away  from  the  perfidious  Albion,  which  was  soon  left  in 
the  distance  astern,  and  henceforth  she  was  spoken  of  as 
the  "dog  in  the  manger."  Braybrook  was  tuned  up  to  a 
very  high  key  by  being  thus  robbed  of  his  first  fair  chance 
for  a  whale. 

The  ship  kept  on  for  several  hours  after  dark,  and  then 
tacked  back  towards  St.  Michael,  endeavoring  to  reach 
well  up  to  windward  of  their  unpleasant  companion.  A 
gallied  whale  usually  works  to  windward,  and  Captain 
Talbert  desired  to  spend  another  day  looking  for  him, 
before  going  into  Horta. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

THE    FIGHT   WITH    A    DEMON    WHALE. 

F)Y  taking  advantage  of  a  slant  of  wind  during  the 
*-*  night,  in  the  morning  the  ship  was  fifty  miles  to  wind 
ward  of  her  position  on  the  previous  day.  About  nine 
o'clock  a  spout  was  raised  which  proved  to  be  a  large, 
lone  whale,  and  was  thought  to  be  the  whale  they  were  in 
search  of.  The  ship  ran  off  to  get  good  run  of  him,  for 
the  whale's  movements  were  found  so  erratic  that  the 
captain  concluded  to  stay  aloft  and  look  after  him,  and 
sent  down  the  three  larboard  boats.  The  whale  never 
came  up  where  he  was  looked  for,  but  opposite  to  where 
he  headed  when  he  went  down.  Uncle  Joe  declared  that 
he  was  crippled,  as  none  but  a  wounded  whale  ever  used 
such  cunning  manoeuvres. 

Having  approached  near  enough  for  lowering,  the  three 
larboard  boats  went  down,  and  were  soon  going  full  tilt  off 
to  leeward,  under  sail.  The  boats  were  well  separated, 
with  the  larboard  boat  in  the  middle  and  ahead.  As 
Raymond  had  got  a  good  start,  and  had  the  wind  on  his 
quarter,  —  the  boat's  best  point  of  sailing,  —  he  steadily 
increased  his  lead. 

Dr.  Greeville  was  in  the  boat.  Having  reminded  the 
mate  of  his  promise  to  that  effect,  the  young  Esculapius 
was  permitted  to  take  the  tub-oarsman's  place.  He  was 

194 


Tlic  Dread  Discovery.  19$ 

in  high  glee  at  the  thought  of  a  whale-hunt  under  the 
guidance  of  such  a  fiery  young  Hotspur  as  Charlie 
Raymond  was  said  to  be.  The  young  medico  was  a 
little  over-boastful  of  the  valorous  deeds  he  intended 
to  accomplish.  The  pretty  little  dude  looked  upon  a 
real  whale-fight  as  something  a  trifle  more  dangerous 
than  pig-killing.  He  was  seriously  intent  upon  a  real 
thrilling  affair  to  relate  to  his  fellow-alumni  at  Cambridge 
upon  his  return. 

When  the  boats  were  lowered,  the  whale  was  about  a  mile 
off.  They  gained  slowly  upon  him,  though  the  breeze  was 
fresh,  and  the  men  were  ranged  along  the  weather  gun 
wale,  causing  the  boat  to  go  very  fast.  Raymond  was  in 
the  best  of  spirits,  as  the  fleet  craft  leaped  from  sea  to 
sea,  and  he  realized  that  he  had  the  whole  field  to  himself. 
Hoogley  was  in  his  place,  for  the  first  time  since  he  re 
covered  from  the  blow  on  his  chest.  He  stood  on  the 
bow  thwart,  supporting  himself  by  the  mast,  which  bent 
and  creaked  in  the  strong  wind.  The  brave  fellow  seemed 
mettlesome  as  ever,  as  he  stood  watching  every  move 
ment  of  the  whale. 

When  the  boat  approached  within  an  eighth  of  a  mile 
of  the  whale,  the  mate  suddenly  mounted  upon  the  foot- 
cleats,  and  looked  long  and  closely  at  the  monster  before 
him.  Mysterious  glances  were  exchanged  between  the 
mate  and  boat-steerer,  which  evidently  had  an  ominous 
meaning.  Raymond  had  discovered  that  he  was  in  chase 
of  a  fast  whale.  There  was  no  reason  why  this  one  fact 
should  be  kept  from  the  men  ;  but  there  was  reason  why 
he  should  not  make  known  the  other  startling  fact  he  hnd 
discovered,  of  three  broad,  white  stripes  down  the  starboard 


196  Tlic  Flectwing. 

side  of  the  whale.  This  determined  that  they  had  the 
fighting  monster  of  the  Albion  before  them. 

From  that  moment  there  was  a  delirium  of  excitement 
seen  in  the  young  mate's  eyes,  which  could  not  fail  to 
soon  be  imparted  to  the  crew.  Raymond  was  one  to 
make  himself  felt  at  all  times  among  his  men  ;  and  upon 
any  such  special  occasion  as  this  —  when  his  own  soul 
was  ablaze  with  valorous  impulses  —  he  could  not  fail  to 
impress  his  crew  with  his  own  fearless  purposes. 

The  mate  realized  the  demoralizing  effect  that  his 
discovery  would  have  upon  the  crew,  and  meant  that  they 
should  not  know  that  he  was  about  to  attack  a  fighting 
whale  —  perhaps  Mocha  Dick,  the  terror  of  all  whalemen, 
the  whale  which  Captain  Norman  believed  had  stoven  his 
boats  and  killed  his  men. 

Eagerly  the  men  now  watched  the  mate's  every  move 
ment,  every  glance.  Brighter  and  brighter  his  gray  eyes 
gleamed,  growing  luminous  with  a  strange  inward  light ; 
flashing  at  times  with  a  terrible  energy,  as  if  he  were  nerv 
ing  himself  to  grapple  with  his  prey. 

The  mate's  eyes  were  at  first  directed  far  off  on  the  sea. 
Gradually  his  glances  dropped  more  and  more,  until  at 
length  his  gaze  was  directed  low  down  in  a  line  with  the 
bow  of  the  boat.  By  this  token  the  crew  knew  that  they 
were  steadily  nearing  the  whale,  and  were  almost  upon 
him.  This  knowledge  made  the  heart-beats  of  the  men 
grow  louder  and  louder.  Yet,  unaccountably  to  them,  the 
mate  now  grew  more  calm  and  stern  and  severe.  His 
lips  curved  into  an  expression  as  savage  as  Braybrook's. 
His  voice  sank  to  a  hoarse  whisper,  as  he  begged  the 
men  not  to  move  a  muscle,  or  stir  a  peg,  lest  the  whale 
should  hear  the  rustle  of  feet. 


Almost  On!  197 

He  bade  Tom  and  Doctor  be  ready  to  slip  into  their 
places  and  grapple  their  oars,  to  pull  ahead,  and  perhaps 
to  stern  a  trifle  ;  the  last  said  with  an  effort  to  make  light 
of  that  part  of  the  evolution.  Not  a  man  was  allowed  to 
turn  his  head  forward  to  look  at  the  whale.  Crawford 
and  Buntline  well  knew  that  this  precaution  was  not 
meant  for  them,  only  for  the  two  greenhorns.  Old  Ben 
watched  the  doctor  like  a  surly  mastiff,  growling  audibly 
if  the  young  fellow  but  moved  his  head,  ready  to  slap  him 
if  he  stole  but  a  glimpse  of  the  forbidden  beast. 

They  soon  drew  near  enough  to  hear  the  spout  of  the 
still  unconscious  whale,  and  began  to  catch  a  sniff  of  that 
never-to-be-forgotten  odor  of  the  leviathan  —  a  pleasant 
mixture  of  sea-weed  and  fish-smell  —  a  fine  tonic  for 
quaking  hearts. 

The  mate  now  stepped  down  on  to  the  stern-sheets,  and 
gave  the  closest  attention  to  his  steering  oar.  His  lips 
were  tightly  compressed,  so  tight  that  they  were  bloodless 
and  ashy  pale.  The  blue  pupils  of  his  gray  eyes  were 
dilated  to -the  utmost —  like  the  enamored  eyes  of  a  lover 
—  but  there  the  parity  ends,  for  their  expression  was 
most  savage  and  furious ;  that  of  one  stealing  with  deadly 
intent  upon  his  victim.  His  orders  were  spoken  low  and 
briefly :  — 

"Get  to  your  places  all  of  you.     Are  you  ready,  John  ?" 

"  Ready,  sir  !  "  answered  the  big-hearted  boat-steerer,  in 
the  tones  of  a  kindred  spirit. 

"  Put  your  irons  in  well  forward,  boy ;  you  know  why." 
The  two  brave  souls  exchanged  glances,  which  expressed 
whole  volumes  to  such  men. 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir !  " 


198  Ike  Fleetwing. 

"  Doctor,  keep  your  eyes  on  me.  Buntline,  chuck  him 
overboard  on  the  instant  if  he  looks  forward."  There 
was  not  a  whit  of  softening  in  the  mate's  tone  or  expres 
sion  as  he  gave  this  murderous  order.  A  cramped  oar  at 
such  times  is  a  matter  of  life  or  death. 

"  I'll  do't,  sir ;  and  Doc  wul  think  ar  bigger  whale 
than  swallered  Jonah  has  got  'im,"  said  Ben,  with  a 
comical  leer  in  his  eye. 

"  Ease  your  sheet,  Bob !  Stand  by  to  tauten  it  when  I 
luff.  And  let  go  by  the  run  when  I  tell  you." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir ! " 

"  Take  your  oars  in  hand,  all  but  Bob." 

The  boat  spun  through  the  water  like  a  frolicsome 
porpoise,  when  the  sheet  was  slacked.  A  nice  ear  could 
now  hear  the  gurgling  swash  of  the  sea  on  the  whale's 
back.  The  boat  shot  over  the  starboard  corner  of  the 
flukes,  at  the  risk  of  being  sent  skyward.  Then,  at  the 
given  word,  Bob  drew  his  sheet  flat  aft,  and  the  mate 
lifted  his  steering  oar  from  the  water,  causing  the  boat  to 
come  leaping  into  the  wind,  doubling  round  the  great 
hump,  and  reaching  well  forward  on  the  whale. 

"  Now !  John,  take  him  as  he  rises.  —  Let  fly  the  sheet ! 
Bob,  take  your  oar.  —  In  with  the  other  iron  !  Well  done  ! 
-Hold  the  boat!  Stern  all.  Roll  up  the  sail.  Peak 
the  oars  and  wet  the  line." 

Up  went  the  great  flukes,  cutting  and  slashing  through 
the  air;  crashing  down  on  the  foamy  sea,  and  flashing 
in  the  sunlight  above  the  boat,  drenching  the  crew  to 
the  skin.  During  a  full  minute  the  men  cowered  and 
held  their  breath  while  they  sterned ;  listening  as  for 
the  footsteps  of  Death,  while  they  watched  for  the 


Fast  to  a  Figliter.  199 

crash  of  cedar,  and  waited  for  the  sensation  of  a  broken 
head. 

At  length  the  earthquake  ceased  to  reverberate  on  the 
water  and  the  thunderbolts  ended  above  their  heads. 
The  whale  went  down  with  the  noisy  rush  of  a  maelstrom, 
leaving  six  panting,  breathless  men  sitting  in  water  above 
the  thwarts.  The  whale  sounded  quickly,  switching  out 
the  line  with  a  jerk  and  a  twang,  which  made  the  boat 
sway  and  tremble  ;  dipping  her  bow  under  the  sea  as  if 
she  were  wrestling  with  a  giant.  The  refreshing  odor  of 
whale  was  replaced  by  the  smell  of  smoke  from  the  logger 
head,  which  was  burned  in  black  spiral  bands  by  the 
swiftly  surging  line. 

After  taking  out  a  hundred  fathoms  of  line  the  whale 
ceased  sounding,  wheeled  to  windward,  and  ran  at  top 
speed  just  under  the  surface.  Faster  and  faster  the  en 
raged  beast  tore  along,  cleaving  the  combing  seas  through 
a  milky  way  of  foam ;  running  until  there  curved  up  a 
thin  sheet  of  glassy  water  from  the  bows,  high  above  the 
bowman's  head,  —  a  foam-crested  curtain  which  extended 
back  to  the  bow  thwart.  The  effect  of  the  sunlight  on 
this  azure  screen  was  to  spangle  the  boat  and  her  crew 
with  all  the  hues  of  the  rainbow. 

In  front  of  the  sharp  bow  there  jetted  a  sun-gilded  bur- 
wave,  feathered  out  at  the  top  with  floating  bubbles  and 
drops  of  flashing  spoondrift,  iridescent  as  diamonds,  a 
picture  of  graceful  curves  and  blended  colors  never  to  be 
forgotten. 

Over  the  busy  waters  of  all  the  wide  world  nothing 
could  be  more  beautiful,  more  magnificent,  than  that  fly 
ing  boat  with  her  water-wings  gemmed  with  prismatic 


2OO  Tlie  Flcctwing. 

hues,  and  the  creamy  bunvave  reaching  far  forward  of  the 
prow,  like  the  milk-white  neck  of  a  swan.  So  swiftly 
were  the  blue  seas  cleft  by  the  stem  that  the  waters 
hissed  and  seethed  where  the  sharp  bow  passed,  as  if 
riven  with  a  hot  iron. 

At  length  the  oars  had  to  be  shipped  in  and  the  men 
gathered  aft,  sufficient  to  lighten  the  bow  and  lift  it  above 
the  flying  spume  of  the  inrolling  waves.  Looking  and 
wondering,  the  excited  crew  watched  to  trim  the  boat  as 
she  careened  quickly  from  side  to  side,  and  clipped  and 
rose  when  meeting  the  unequal  seas. 

The  stern  look  on  the  mate's  face  had  softened  into  an 
aspect  of  keen  satisfaction  and  pride.  With  folded  arms 
he  stood  balancing  in  the  middle  of  the  boat,  communing 
with  himself;  a  picture  of  vigorous  manhood,  made  glo 
rious  by  the  strength  and  courage  required  to  meet  the 
deadly  combat  which  he  knew  awaited  him.  Whatever 
his  thoughts,  they  mantled  his  mobile  features  with  a 
triumphant  smile,  —  as  one  who  contemplates  the  end  of 
a  well  won  victory. 

Hoogley,  too,  seemed  to  enjoy  the  swift  dash  through 
the  sparkling  brine ;  his  black,  Malay  eyes  gleamed  like 
a  vulture's,  as  he  girded  his  loins  for  the  coming  battle 
with  the  fiendish  whale.  John  was  proud  of  the  confi 
dence  the  mate  reposed  in  him,  and  ready  to  face  any 
form  of  danger  if  his  young  officer  was  there  to  lend  a 
guiding  hand. 

As  yet  not  one  of  the  crew  mistrusted  that  they  were 
fast  to  the  Albion's  fighting  whale,  which  had  stoven  her 
boats  and  killed  so  many  men.  Old  Tom  took  occasion 
to  show  his  appreciation  of  the  novel  scene  :  — 


Nan  tucket  Sleigh-Ride.  20 1 

"Well,  greenhorns,  what  duz  yer  think  o'  ther  life  uv  ar 
jolly  whaleman  ?  This  am  what  yer  may  call  ar  '  Nan- 
tucket  sleigh-ride.'  See  the  snow  fly!  Hear  the  bells 
ring !  " 

"Ay,  ay,"  said  old  Ben,  who  echoed  every  sentiment  of 
Tom's.  "  Who  wouldn't  be  ar  bully  whaler  an'  ride  arter 
sich  ar  team ;  speedin'  up  ar  mile  ar  minute ;  an'  no  mile 
stones  ter  tumble  up  the  road,  wid  yer  p'ints  o'  ther  com 
pass  painted  on  um." 

Nevertheless,  there  were'  two  young  hearts  beating  as 
they  had  never  beaten  before.  They  had  not  yet  gotten 
over  the  shock  of  the  first  onset,  where  they  were  sub 
jected  to  a  free  bath,  without  the  choice  of  whether  it 
should  be  hot  or  cold.  They  both  sat  terrified  and  spell 
bound,  requiring  harsh  orders  to  insure  their  attention  to 
trimming  boat :  especially  the  dandy  little  Esculapius,  who 
wished  himself  anywhere  else  but  in  that  boat.  Neither 
of  these  pretty  young  boobies  was  a  natural  craven  ;  but 
they  had  taken  an  oar  in  the  wrong  boat,  and  became  dis 
mayed  at  the  too  great  familiarity  of  Death,  when  he  was 
seen  whisking  about  on  the  tail  of  an  ugly  whale. 

The  speed  of  the  boat  now  slackened,  and  the  line 
began  to  trend  more  to  the  surface.  The  mate  at  once 
took  his  position  in  the  bow  and  prepared  for  action. 

"  There  he  slacks  line.  There  he  comes  up,  boys.  Go 
to  your  thwarts,  ship  out  your  oars,  and  clap  on  and  haul 
line." 

Such  were  the  brisk  orders  of  the  mate  as  he  took  his 
position,  unhooked  two  lances  and  placed  them  in  the 
crotch,  ready  for  use.  The  whale  had  been  running  half 
an  hour,  taking  the  boat  four  miles  to  windward  of  the 


2O2  Tlic  Flectwing. 

ship,  when  he  turned  and  ran  three  miles  back  to  leeward, 
slowing  up  near  where  the  boats  were  pulling  up  to  meet 
him. 

Raymond  hoped  that  the  brisk  run  and  deep  sound  of 
the  brute  would  induce  him  to  lie  quiet  long  enough  for 
them  to  lance  him.  The  whale  came  up  nearest  the  waist- 
boat,  and  Braybrook  prepared  to  take  him  head  and  head, 
as  he  came  slowly  down  before  the  wind.  Twice  the 
great  beast  turned  cautiously  to  the  right  or  left,  and 
rolled  up  his  fierce  red  eyes  to  the  surface  to  get  a  look 
at  the  fast  boat,  which  was  then  fifty  fathoms  astern  in  his 
wake.  He  did  not  appear  to  see  the  loose  boat  which 
was  directly  ahead  of  him.  Braybrook  pulled  up  and  lay 
waiting  for  the  whale  to  approach ;  and  when  very  near, 
he  sheered  off  the  boat  and  pulled  past  the  head,  seeking 
a  good  square  dart  at  his  life. 

The  monster  was  just  then  thrusting  his  head  up  to 
spout.  Morey  drew  back,  iron  in  hand,  ready  to  dart  the 
instant  the  whale's  body  emerged  above  water;  when  the 
startled  beast  discovered  the  boat  abreast  of  his  eye. 
The  quiet  spout  he  had  begun  to  eject  was  suddenly 
snorted  out  like  the  blast  of  a  trumpet.  Rolling  quickly 
over  on  his  side,  he  made  a  swift  under-cut  with  his  jaw, 
and  severed  the  boat  amiclship;  cutting  big  Antonio's 
body  in  two.  Braybrook,  and  the  stroke  and  tub  oars 
men  were  sent  flying  in  their,  half  of  the  boat  fifty  feet 
out  ahead  :  while  Morey's  half  of  the  wreck  filled  and  lay 
awash  near  the  whale's  eye. 

The  bow  half  of  the  boat  now  attracted  the  whale's 
attention.  With  an  angry  movement  he  flung  up  his  head 
and  crashed  it  down  on  the  wreck,  leaving  nought  but 


The  Stoven  Boat.  203 

floating  splinters.  Morey  and  Pico,  the  bow  oarsman, 
were  seen  swimming  away  toward  the  bow-boat,  which 
had  pulled  up  to  rescue  Braybrook  and  the  survivors  of 
his  crew.  The  whale  pitched  and  went  down  about  fifty 
fathoms,  and  lay  sulking  for  half  an  hour.  Mr.  Bailey 
then  sought  to  pick  up  the  dead  body,  but  it  sank  before 
he  could  reach  it.  Gathering  up  the  oars,  paddles,  whale 
craft  and  floating  line,  the  bow-boat  pulled  away  for  the 
ship  with  the  remains  of  the  waist-boat. 

This  was  indeed  a  sad  event  to  mar  the  Fleetwing's 
prospective  victory.  When  the  larboard  boat  fastened  to 
the  whale,  Braybrook  gnashed  his  teeth  with  rage.  It 
made  the  iron  enter  his  very  soul  to  think  of  its  being 
Raymond's  ninth  whale,  and  not  one  could  yet  be  counted 
to  the  waist-boat.  With  such  ungenerous  feelings,  Bray 
brook  took  the  suicidal  risk  of  a  head-and-head  encounter 
in  hot  haste  to  place  his  boat  where  Morey  could  kill  the 
whale  of  his  young  rival,  and  detract  somewhat  from  his 
glory. 

All  whalemen  know  the  recklessness  of  meeting  a 
lighting  whale  by  the  head,  unless  both  boat  and  whale 
are  meeting  at  great  speed.  The  jaw  is  a  cachalot's  chief 
defence,  and  he  becomes  very  efficient  in  its  use.  No 
one  knew  this  better  than  Braybrook,  and  his  taking  such 
risk  to  gratify  revenge  showed  the  ferocious  courage  of 
the  man. 

The  whale  came  up  breaching,  flinging  his  vast  length 
nearly  out  of  water;  displaying  the  Albion's  two  lines  — 
as  well  as  the  Fleetwing's  —  dangling  from  his  body  while 
lie  poised  in  air.  Breaching  with  starboard  side  to  wind 
ward,  he  plainly  showed  the  three  white  strifes  of  Norman's 


2C4  The  Fleetwing. 

demon  whale  to  the  boat's  crew,  as  well  as  to  all  on 
board  the  ship  —  which  lay  near  by  taking  in  the  wrecked 
crew.  A  feeling  of  horror  ran  through  the  heart  of  every 
beholder.  Crawford  was  the  first  to  break  the  news  to 
his  shipmates  :  — 

"  Duz  yer  see  thet  ere,  sir  ?  By  the  howly  Pater !  thet's 
Mocha  Dick,  what  we  uns  hev  hooked  to,"  and  the  startled 
veteran  looked  to  his  young  officer  for  further  clew  to  his 
discourse. 

"  Well,  what  of  it  ? "  cried  the  mate,  testily,  with  a 
touch  of  severity  in  his  tone,  never  before  used  to  his 
brave  old  shipmate.  "  Why,  Tom,  did  you  and  I  ever 
hook  to  a  whale  that  we  couldn't  master  ? " 

"  Durned  ar  bit  uv  it,  sir.  An'  if  yer  sez  ther  word,  we 
ur.s  wul  jist  scalp  ther  case  off  uv  this  un  too." 

"  Spoken  like  a  man,  Tom.  I  knew  that  you  and  Ben 
would  lend  a  hand  at  any  little  job  of  this  kind.  Ha, 
Buntline?" 

"  True  ez  ther  gospel,  sir.  You  must  'member  thet  it 
wuz  we  uns  what  taught  yer  ter  tackle  enything  waggin' 
ar  fin  or  ar  fluke,"  and  Ben  bristled  up  like  a  turkey 
gobbler,  to  show  his  zeal. 

"  Face  forward,  then,  all  of  you,  and  haul  line." 

Tom,  Ben,  and  Bob  obeyed  the  order  cheerfully,  and 
sent  the  boat  spinning  over  the  sea  after  the  whale,  which 
was  jogging  slowly  off  to  leeward.  The  Doctor  sat 
irresolute  and  dazed,  his  white  face  fixed  on  the  ship, 
something  as  a  dying  man  takes  his  last  look  at  the  sun. 
But  a  violent  slap  on  the  back  from  old  Ben  was  sufficient 
to  induce  the  young  medico  to  wheel  about  and  make  a 
dumb  show  of  hauling  line. 


Spiliri  fur  ar  Fight.  205 

Something  ominous  about  the  whale's  action  led  the 
mate  to  watch  him  closely  while  the  line  was  being 
gathered  in.  The  green  hands  were  not  enough  ex 
perienced  in  angling  for  such  monsters  to  read  the  ill 
omens,  but  they  came  to  a  better  knowledge  of  such  I 
things  before  the  fight  was  over. 

Even  the  scared  little  M.  D.  noticed  that  the  mate 
peeled  to  his  shirt  and  rolled  up  his  sleeves,  intent 
upon  some  savage  job  of  butchery  ;  and  that  he  stopped 
to  button  his  pea-jacket  round  the  harponier  thwart,  and 
nodded  to  Hoogley  to  secure  everything  under  the  stern- 
sheets,  as  a  man  becomes  very  careful  of  his  watch  when 
about  to  be  drowned.  The  mate's  doings  could  not  but 
seem  portentous  even  to  the  knowing  ones.  Further 
observations  were  interrupted  by  Raymond's  orders  for 
for  active  work  :  — 

"  Haul  line  lively,  men  !  John,  coil  away  carefully  ;  no 
kinks  in  your  line,  for  there's  fun  ahead." 

"  Ay,  sir,"  said  Tom,  "  ther  cretur  snorts  like  ar  mad 
bull  at  er  Lima  bull-fight,  an'  snaps  his  spout-holes  like 
ar  jib-sheet  in  ar  squall." 

"  Him  is  spilin1  fur  ar  fight,  an'  he's  big  'nough  ter 
show  ar  good  tussle,"  said  old  Ben. 

"Well,  my  lads,"  replied  the  mate,  "we  must  fix  him 
at  once,  before  he  coaxes  himself  into  a  squabble." 

"  Thet's  so,  sir,"  joined  in  Hoogley.  "  His  old  gray  head 
is  scarred  by  many  a  battle.  He's  a  deep  feller,  too, 
Mr.  Raymo.nd,  an'  wants  ar  long  lance  to  tickle  his 
gizzard." 

"  You're  right,  John.  And  we  must  get  well  for'ard  for 
that  work  —  well  up  to  the  bunch  of  his  neck,  for  a  square 


206  The  Flcetwing. 

set.  Haul,  men  ;  haul  like  thunder  !  "  The  mate  grexv 
impatient  to  come  to  blows. 

Nearer  and  nearer  the  boat  approached  the  suspicious 
whale,  until  his  angry  spoutings  quickened  the  heart-beats 
of  the  crew,  and  visions  of  fighting  whales  and  stoven  boats 
crowded  tumultuously  upon  the  memory  of  all.  Seeing 
that  the  heart-barometer  of  his  men  was  falling,  Ray 
mond's  voice  grew  sharp  and  stern  in  giving  orders,  which 
served  to  withdraw  their  attention  from  the  appalling 
danger  they  were  about  to  encouter. 

"  Avast  hauling !  Now,  boys,  face  round  to  your  oars, 
—  all  but  Tom.  Crawford,  my  lad,  you  and  I  can  master 
this  chap,  any  day." 

"  Count  on  we  uns,  sir,  ez  long  ez  there's  ar  plank  ter 
float  on,"  replied  the  brawny  fellow. 

"  Hoogley,  take  your  oar  and  sheer  us  well  clear  of  his 
flukes.  There's  shoal  water  over  the  suspicious  things, 
and  we  must  give  them  a  little  leeway." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir  !  " 

When  all  was  ready,  Raymond  lifted  the  line  from  the 
chock  and  passed  it  to  Crawford,  who  took  it  to  the  bow 
cleat  on  the  port  side,  ready  to  haul  upon. 

"  Now,  Tom,  buckle  to  your  work  !  "  And  Crawford's 
strong  arms  sent  the  boat  ahead  with  a  bound,  making  a 
wide  curve  round  the  flukes,  which  were  cunningly  sweep 
ing  from  side  to  side,  feeling  about  for  his  coming  foe. 
As  the  boat  rounded  the  hump  and  shot  forward,  Ray 
mond  poised  his  lance  ready  for  a  plunge  into  the  mon 
ster. 

But  the  watchful  whale  caught  sight  of  the  bow,  which 
had  made  too  wide  a  circuit,  and  he  shot  ahead,  jetting 


under  the  Sea.  2O/ 

forth  his  spout  with  the  tearing  noise  of  escaping  steam. 
Plunging  under  water,  he  took  out  fifty  fathoms  of  line, 
and  the  mate  thought  he  was  gone  for  a  while  ;  but  he 
wheeled  about  on  the  back  track,  and  came  breaching  out 
directly  for  the  boat. 

The  mighty  creature  leaped  so  high  out  of  water  that, 
for  an  instant,  complete  suspension  took  place  before  the 
vast  bulk  came  tumbling  back  to  the  sea.  While  the 
dark  mass  hung  between  the  boat  and  the  sun,  it  hurtled 
down  the  blackest  shadow  ever  cast  by  Death. 

Seeing  that  the  line  had  slackened,  Raymond  fortu 
nately  gave  orders  to  stern  before  the  whale  appeared. 
When  he  breached,  Raymond  and  Tom  sprang  to  their 
oars,  though  both  confessed  that  they  expected  to  be 
crushed  into  a  shapeless  mass. 

But  it  was  Hoogley  who  saved  the  lives  of  all.  With 
some  quick,  strong  sweeps  of  his  steering-oar,  aided  by 
Tom's  lusty  back  strokes,  John  swung  the  boat  round  par 
allel  with  the  falling  whale,  which  came  crashing  down  on 
the  blades  of  the  trailing  oars,  just  clear  of  the  gunwale. 
Up  went  a  whole  ocean  of  water,  seething  and  roaring  into 
a  mountain  of  foam.  Then  down  came  the  uplifted  foun 
tain,  filling  the  boat  till  she  was  sunk  wholly  under  the 
sea,  coming  up  with  her  gunwales  just  awash. 

Every  soul  was  dashed  to  the  bottom  of  the  boat  by  the 
tons  of  falling  water.  Bob  and  the  Doctor  so  fully  be 
lieved  themselves  crushed  to  pulp  by  the  whale  that  they 
made  no  effort  for  rescue.  But  the  avalanche  subsided, 
and  the  God-given  sun  looked  down  upon  six  water-soaked 
wretches,  two  of  whom  were  so  palsied  with  fright  that 
they  still  lay  face  down  in  the  water. 


208  The  Fleetwing. 

Buntline  caught  up  one  of  the  half-drowned  boys  and 
Hoogley  the  other,  each  holding  up  his  limp  specimen  to 
the  sun  by  the  nape  of  the  neck,  as  a  cat  lifts  her  kittens. 
The  boys  soon  disgorged  their  inward  cargo  of  water, 
though  the  deckload  soaked  into  their  clothes  was  not  so 
easily  got  rid  of.  While  all  were  puffing  and  blowing  like 
porpoises,  the  mate  was  the  first  to  speak  :  — 

"  Steady,  my  lads.  Steady  the  boat,  and  keep  her  up 
right.  Bail  like  devils,  for  there's  more  fun  coming. 
Overboard  with  a  buoy  on  the  quarter,  Hoogley.  I'll  put 
one  on  the  port  side." 

"Oh,  Mr.  Raymond!  please  don't  take  us  near  that 
whale  again,"  called  out  the  demoralized  M.  D.,  recover 
ing  his  puny  voice  after  vomiting  up  a  pailful  of  brine. 
This  appeal  brought  forth  a  roar  of  laughter  from  the 
four  saline  souls,  and  the  mate  shouted  with  cheery 
voice :  — 

• "  Bail  quick,  all  of  you.  Why,  lads,  there's  some  glory 
in  tackling  a  turbulent  fellow  of  this  kind.  Doctor,  take 
your  hat  and  bail  out  the  boat,  you  blue  monkey !  We'll 
clip  the  chap's  parvagum,  and  hold  a  post-mortem  on  him 
yet."  This  was  said  while  the  officers  were  securing  the 
two  sealskin  buoys  to  the  gunwales,  to  prevent  the  water 
logged  boat  rolling  over. 

The  whale  had  settled  under  water  after  his  lofty  tum 
ble,  and  lay  projecting  another  attack.  He  came  up  a 
little  way  from  the  boat  before  she  was  half  bailed  out, 
but,  instead  of  resuming  the  offensive,  started  briskly  off 
to  leeward.  He  was  in  a  watchful,  surly  mood,  judging 
from  his  spiteful  way  of  spouting,  the  nervous  wiggle  of 
his  hump,  and  his  cautious  method  of  running  on  a  devi- 


The  Nervous  Beast.  209 

ous  course  — first,  a-starboard  and  then  a-port  —  at  which 
times  he  would  roll  up  his  fierce  black  eyes  to  the  sur 
face,  glaring  about  like  a  couchant  tiger,  ready  to  spring 
upon  the  first  comer. 

The  moment  the  boat  was  free  from  water,  the  men 
were  put  to  the  line,  without  giving  time  to  wring  out 
their  wet  clothes ;  for  the  captain  and  third  mate  were 
coming  up  fast  under  oars  and  sail,  meaning  to  take  a 
hand  in  killing  the  whale. 

After  the  boat  had  hauled  up  close  in  the  rear  of  the 
whale,  Raymond  held  up  his  hand  to  stop  hauling;  and 
still  he  did  not  bid  the  men  take  their  oars  as  before. 
He  was  contemplating  some  desperate  deed,  and  taking 
his  own  time  to  do  it.  With  an  imperious  motion  he 
waved  for  the  loose  boats  to  keep  back  out  of  the  way, 
and  not  disturb  the  whale.  The  captain  took  the  hint, 
peaked  his  oars  and  followed  on  under  easy  sail.  Proba 
bly  Hoogley  caught  the  mate's  plan  from  previous  re 
marks,  and  what  he  now  said  in  low  tones  :  — 

"  Let  the  nervous  beast  quiet  down  a  bit,  and  forget 
we  are  here.  The  boats  are  at  hand  to  pick  us  up  if  we 
need  'em.  So,  John,  we'll  use  no  oars  this  time,  but  go 
straight  to  the  mark.  Hug  him  close  — '  wood  and  black- 
skin  ' and  give  me  a  set  before  he  can  see  us." 

Raymond's  manner  was  always  stern  and  severe  when 
about  a  whale.  But  now  the  muscles  of  his  neck  were 
corded,  his  veins  beaded,  and  the  expression  of  his  face 
was  made  almost  savage  by  the  terrible  energy  revealed 
in  his  eyes.  Turning  to  the  boat-steerer,  he  asked  in  a 
whisper :  — 

"  Are  you  ready  for  a  dash  ?  " 


2IO  The  Fleetwing. 

"All  ready,  sir,"  was  Hoogley's  quiet  reply;  though 
John  was  as  tigerish  at  such  times  as  the  mate,  and  loved 
danger  as  well. 

"Then  ship  in  the  oars,  and  grapple  the  line,  every 
soul  of  you."  Raymond  caught  up  his  lance  and  braced 
himself  to  use  it.  "  Now,  John,  lay  off  just  enough  to 
clear  his  small,  but  not  an  inch  to  spare.  Haul,  the  rest 
of  you,  like  devils !  Haul,  I  tell  you,  till  the  iron-pole 
hangs  at  the  head  of  the  boat!"  . 

There  was  a  ring  of  triumph  in  the  mate's  words,  that  im 
parted  something  of  his  own  dauntless  courage  to  the  most 
timid  in  the  boat.  It  was  the  language  of  a.  man  willing 
to  peril  his  own  life  in  a  brave  act,  and  who  demanded  a 
show  of  courage  in  others. 

Caught  upon  the  top  of  a  rising  sea,  the  boat  ran 
quickly  over  the  flukes  —  though  the  corners  were  curled 
up  nervously  on  both  sides  of  the  boat  as  she  passed  — 
slipped  along  the  small,  past  the  hump,  and  the  next 
moment  the  iron-pole  was  hanging  at  the  chocks ;  then 
down  went  the  long  keen  lance  into  the  life  of  the  mon 
ster. 

Raymond  stood  transfixed  with  joy  as  he  saw  the  blood 
belching  forth  from  the  spiracle  of  the  mighty  cachalot. 
A  yell  of  delight  came  from  the  boats  near  at  hand. 
And  a  lustier,  louder  shout  came  from  the  distant  ship, 
in  which  a  falsetto  of  feminine  voices  was  faintly  dis 
tinguished. 

Not  a  sound  had  the  savage  beast  heard  as  the  swift 
boat  approached.  Not  until  he  felt  the  chill  imparted  by 
the  cold  steel  piercing  his  lung  and  entering  his  heart, 
did  he  know  that  his  foe  was  upon  him.  The  whale's 


The  Dying  Monster.'  2 1 1 

fins  quivered  and  stiffened  at  a  right  angle,  stopping  his 
headway  on  the  instant.  A  swift  tremor  ran  through 
him  ;  its  muscular  contraction  bending  the  lance  into 
several  waving  curves ;  an  unfailing  evidence  that  the 
heart  was  reached. 

Rallying  for  a  last  courageous  attempt  to  defend  him 
self,  he  thrust  out  his  vast  head  till  his  bloodshotten  eyes 
came  to  the  surface.  When  he  caught  sight  of  the  boat, 
something  of  his  old  strength  returned  for  the  moment. 
Flinging  his  jaw  wide-open,  the  whale  made  a  swift  cut 
just  at  the  head  of  the  boat,  thrashing  down  upon  the  sea 
in  futile  attempt  to  crush  the  murderous  hand  that  had 
dealt  him  the  blow. 

The  whale's  rolling  movement  lifted  the  bow  out  of 
water,  and  compelled  Raymond  to  slack  line,  and  stern 
briskly  away,  to  escape  the  great  harrow  flashing  above 
his  head.  Failing  to  reach  the  boat,  the  dying  monster 
"  milled"  round  and  round  in  a  small  circle,  feeling  for 
the  boat  with  his  flukes,  and  biting  snappishly  at  the 
passing  shadow  of  an  albatross,  which  scented  the  blood, 
and  swooped  down  very  near  to  feed  upon  the  clots  as 
they  fell. 

It  was  the  whale's  last  effort  to  show  fight.  He  headed 
slowly  off  to  leeward  with  a  red  flag  in  his  spout,  and  in 
about  half  an  hour  rolled  up  dead. 

Mr.  Bailey  pulled  up,  and,  at  the  mate's  request,  cut  a 
hole  for  the  fluke-rope,  and  took  charge  of  the  dead  whale. 
Raymond  pulled  aboard,  that  himself  and  crew  might  get 
out  of  their  wet  clothes  as  soon  as  possible.  The  nervous 
strain  had  taxed  them  all  to  the  utmost,  and  they  looked 
worn  and  haggard,  and  felt  tired  and  hungry. 


212  The  Fleetwing. 

After  the  whale  was  chained  alongside,  the  two  lines 
belonging  to  the  Albion  were  hooked  to,  hauled  aboard, 
and  coiled  on  the  bottoms  of  the  spare  boats  over 
head.  Her  four  irons  were  also  cut  out,  to  verify  the 
fact  that  the  prize  was  really  Captain  Norman's  demon 
whale. 

Tears  were  in  Mrs.  Talbert's  eyes  when  she  greeted 
Raymond  at  table,  as  she  exclaimed :  — 

"  Oh,  you  reckless  man  !  I  hope  that  you  took  time  to 
thank  God,  soon  as  you  changed  your  wet  clothes,  for  sav 
ing  yourself  and  crew  from  that  awful  creature." 

"  I  never  let  wet  clothes  prevent  my  attending  to  that 
duty  on  the  spot.  I  returned  thanks  while  I  was  punch 
ing  my  lance  into  the  life  of  that  old  beast,"  replied  Ray 
mond,  reverently. 

"  After  all,"  said  the  captain,  "  it's  worth  while  to  get  a 
ducking  now  and  then,  to  learn  how  much  people  think  of 
us.  When  the  whale  breached,  your  boat  disappeared  for 
a  time  under  the  falling  water;  and,  thinking  you  were 
crushed,  I  hailed  the  deck  to  say  that  you  were  all  killed. 
The  wail  that  went  up  from  the  female  community  was 
pretty  near  worth  dying  for." 

"  Of  course  it  was  an  awful  shock  to  us,"  chimed  in 
both  ladies. 

"  Yes,"  continued  the  captain,  "  but  when  I  saw  the 
boat  was  afloat,  and  hurried  down  to  go  and  pick  up  the 
crew,  the  ladies  were  wringing  their  hands  and  making  a 
big  uproar,  and  were  not  willing  to  believe  you  were  alive 
in  a  stoven  boat.  I'll  certainly  try  Mr.  Raymond's  plan 
some  time,  to  get  an  estimate  of  my  value  in  this  com 
munity." 


Roast  Pig  for  the  Hero.  2 1 3 

"  No,  Daniel,  I  guess  you  don't  need  to  do  that  at  pres 
ent,"  pleaded  Mrs.  Talbert. 

"~  I  should  think,  after  Mr.  Braybrook's  accident,  you 
might  have  let  that  terrible  creature  alone,"  said  Miss 
Allston,  whose  flushed  face  and  sparkling  eyes  implied 
that  she  had  withdrawn  from  the  rank  of  mourners,  and 
was  now  prepared  to  erect  a  triumphal  arch  to  commemor 
ate  the  final  glorious  deed. 

"  A  whaleman  doesn't  give  up  the  game  because  of  a 
stoven  boat,"  replied  the  mate ;  at  the  same  time  tucking 
in  a  juicy  piece  of  roast  pig,  which  Mrs.  Talbert  had 
ordered  cooked  in  his  honor  the  instant  she  saw  the  whale 
spouting  blood. 

"  How  did  the  Doctor  behave  on  this  first  occasion  ? " 
asked  Braybrook,  always  intent  upon  some  malicious 
topic,  and  heartily  sick  of  hearing  so  much  praise  in  his 
young  rival's  favor. 

"  I  have  a  faint  recollection  that  Doctor  was  a  little 
absent-minded  at  times,  probably  thinking  of  the  post 
mortem  he  would  make  on  the  whale,"  said  the  mate,  will 
ing  to  spare  the  young  medico,  who  looked  greatly 
abashed  and  crest-fallen  at  the  turn  of  the  conversation. 

So  the  dinner  hour  passed.  A  feast  of  reason,  as  well 
as  roast  pig  and  plum  duff,  for  all  but  Braybrook,  whose 
heart  was  cankered  to  the  core  by  continuation  of  his  ill 
luck. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE   HIDDEN    HISTORY   OF    "  TIMOR   TOM." 

TT  was  several  days  before  Braybrook  got  over  his  wrathy 
mood.  He  had  lost  his  pet  boat,  built  for  him  at  extra 
expense ;  one  of  the  owner's  many  perquisites  which  in 
duced  him  to  ship  as  second  officer  in  the  Fleetwing. 
The  new  boat  was  expected  to  outpull  all  others ;  and 
those  interested  were  greatly  piqued  when  they  found  that 
the  captain  had  ordered  one  built  for  the  mate,  which 
proved  the  fastest  boat  on  board. 

Braybrook's  sad  mishap  awakened  a  general  sympathy, 
which  did  much  toward  mollifying  his  ire.  Captain  Tal- 
bert  gave  him  the  choice  of  three  new  boats  overhead ; 
and  Braybrook's  selection  proved  good ;  for,  on  trial,  the 
new  boat  was  found  to  outpull  the  old  one.  This  happy 
hit  served  to  bring  the  turbulent  officer  into  something 
approaching  good  humor  again. 

By  judicious  care  in  all  their  professional  duties,  Ray 
mond  avoided  everything  which  might  jar  the  temper  of 
his  surly  subordinate  ;  well  knowing  that  no  word  of  con 
solation  would  be  received  from  him,  as  the  suspicious 
nature  of  the  man  would  lead  him  to  deem  it  insincere. 

After  dinner,  an  hour's  nooning  was  given  the  men; 
then  all  hands  were  called  to  cut  in  the  whale.  Bray- 

214 


TJie  Ancient  Harpoons.  215 

trook  and  the  ship-keepers  had  previously  got  everything 
ready  fen  hooking  on,  when  it  was  seen  that  the  whale 
was  spouting  blood.  Here  was  a  much  larger  head  to 
deal  with  than  they  had  had  before.  The  "  case  "  would 
bail  nearly  twenty  barrels. 

When  the  blanket-pieces  began  to  be  flenced  off  from 
the  middle  and  after  parts  of  the  body,  Braybrook's  cut 
ting  spade  occasionally  struck  against  the  shanks  of  old 
irons  found  buried  in  the  blubber.  Six  of  these  ancient 
iron  shanks  were  saved  —  others  slipped  through  into  the 
body  —  which  went  to  show  that  many  another  ship's 
boats  had  been  fast  and  stove n  in  past  years. 

A  harpoon  thus  left  in  a  whale  rusts  off  just  beneath 
the  outer  surface  of  the  blubber.  The  wound  heals  -up, 
leaving  a  hard  white  cicatrice  large  as  the  hand,  to  show 
where  the  barb  entered.  The  shank  of  the  iron  is  rusted 
off  by  the  corroding  effect  of  sea-water,  -vhich  eats  the 
iron  down  to  a  long  tapering  point,  while  all  parts  fairly 
within  the  blubber  are  preserved  intact  forever. 

The  extracted  harpoons  were  not  all  marked,  but  the 
names  of  four  ships,  with  dates,  were  found  cut  on  the 
heads  of  a  like  number  of  irons.  And,  strange  to  say, 
the  name  of  the  old  ship  Herald  was  found  among  the 
marked  irons,  a  vessel  to  which  Captain  Talbert  belonged 
at  the  time  —  twenty  years  before.  And  another,  the 
Sea  Lion,  in  which  Uncle  Joe  had  steered  a  boat  forty 
years  before  ;  though  not  at  the  time  corresponding  to  the 
date  on  her  iron. 

The  date  found  on  the  Herald's  iron  was  1827.  This 
date  corresponded  with  the  captain's  recollection  of  a 
whale  fight  in  the  Indian  Ocean  at  that  time.  The 


2 1 6  The  Fleetwing. 

Herald  had  been  cruising  with  good  success  off  Timor 
Island.  At  length,  late  one  afternoon,  they  raised  a  big 
whale  which  spouted  seventy  times,  and  everybody  was 
elated  with  the  promise  of  catching  a  very  large  whale. 

The  mate's  boat  approached  the  whale  carefully,  and 
fastened.  The  third  mate  pulled  up  to  strike  him,  and 
was  knocked  to  pieces  in  an  instant,  and  had  three  men 
killed.  The  second  mate  picked  up  the  living  ones  of  the 
wrecked  crew  and  pulled  to  the  ship.  The  captain 
lowered  to  help  the  mate,  got  stoven  and  had  his  leg 
broken.  This  compelled  the  mate  to  cut  loose,  and  save 
the  captain  and  his  crew.  Though  the  whale  hung  round 
till  dark,  chewing  the  stoven  boats  to  pieces,  no  further 
effort  was  made  to  take  him.  Having  no  spare  boats,  the 
ship  put  away  for  Batavia,  where  the  captain's  leg  was 
attended  to,  and  new  boats  procured. 

It  was  considered,  at  the  time  of  their  accident,  that  they 
had  hooked  to  the  famous  Timor  Tom.  Two  months 
after,  an  English  ship  fastened  to  the  same  whale,  off 
Bally;  had  two  boats  stoven  and  some  men  killed,  and 
gave  up  the  chase.  This  ship  subsequently  met  the 
Herald,  and,  upon  hearing  her  story,  declared  that  they 
recognized  the  Herald's  iron-pole,  and  the  position  of  the 
harpoon  —  just  under  the  hump. 

The  English  ship's  name  —  Lord  Nelson  —  did  not 
correspond  with  anyof  the  names  found  on  the  irons  of 
Raymond's  whale  ;  her  iron  was  probably  one  of  those 
which  had  worked  through  into  the  body.  Of  the  two 
harpoons  not  marked,  one  was  of  French  make,  and  the 
other  was  believed  to  be  a  Dutch  iron,  such  as  the  Bremer- 
haven  ships  used  at  that  time. 


Anchored  at  Horta.  2 1 7 

Uncle  Joe  declared  that  the  Fleetwing's  whale  was  not 
Mocha  Dick.  He  described  the  head  of  the  real  demon 
whale  as  being  all  white,  and  immensely  larger  than  this 
Timor  Tom's.  It  was  cause  for  great  rejoicing,  their 
having  rid  the  ocean  of  such  a  murderous  monster  as  this, 
and  Raymond  could  not  but  feel  well  satisfied  with  his 
share  of  the  capture. 

When  the  boiling  was  completed,  the  ship  was  headed 
toward  Fayal  under  full  press  of  sail.  The  whale  had 
turned  out  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  barrels  of  oil. 
This  made  their  full  catch  amount  to  six  hundred  and 
fifty-seven  barrels.  On  the  following  day,  the  ship  ran 
into  Horta  and  dropped  anchor  near  the  freightship, 
which,  fortunately,  had  not  yet  made  up  her  cargo. 

It  was  a  source  of  annoyance  to  all  to  find  the  Albion 
in  port,  as  no  one  of  the  Fleetwing's  people  wished  ever 
to  see  her  again.  She  had  taken  a  sixty-barrel  bull,  and 
ran  into  port  to  ship  the  oil  home.  Her  boats  had  got 
fast  to  two  whales  ;  one  boat  got  smashed  and  lost  the 
whale,  and  Captain  Norman  was  now  in  quest  of  another 
boat. 

The  Fleetwing  ran  down  across  the  Albion's  stern,  and 
Captain  Talbert  hailed  as  he  passed ;  finding  Norman 
was  on  shore,  he  asked  the  mate  to  send  a  boat  to  the 
Fleetwing  to  get  the  two  lines  and  the  irons  taken  from 
Timor  Tom  ;  not  wishing  to  retain  anything  belonging 
to  such  an  unlucky  ship ;  and  at  heart  having  a  good  deal 
of  sympathy  for  such  an  unfortunate  set  of  people. 

The  oil-casks  were  becketed  by  the  coopers  while  the 
captain  was  ashore  at  the  custom-house,  getting  a  trans 
shipping  permit,  When  this  was  obtained,  the  oil  was 


218  Tlic  Fleetwing. 

briskly  rafted,  and  towed  to  the  home-bound  vessel.  A 
mail-bag  with  home  letters  was  taken  to  the  consul's ; 
then  the  Fleetwing  lifted  her  anchor  and  put  to  sea. 

When  fairly  clear  of  Pico,  they  steered  southeast  for 
another  thorough  look  about  the  St.  Michael  ground, 
where  they  had  been  so  successful. 

Day  after  day  the  ship  cruised  over  the  blue  reaches  of 
sea  where  they  had  found  whales  so  plentiful,  without 
further  success.  At  the  end  of  ten  days  the  ship  was 
steered  for  St.  Michael,  to  land  Dr.  Greeville,  and  give 
the  men  a  day's  liberty  before  they  stretched  out  into 
the  Atlantic.  Late  one  afternoon  they  ran  the  ship  in 
and  anchored  in  the  open  roadstead  off  Ponta  Delgada, 
which  is  the  chief  port  of  St.  Michael,  and  has  about 
fifteen  thousand  inhabitants ;  the  harbor  being  too  shal 
low  for  the  Fleetwing  to  enter. 

After  the  ship  had  been  made  snug,  the  cabin  people 
gathered  about  the  taffrail,  to  watch  the  lighthouse  and 
the  glittering  lights  along  the  shore,  and  plan  for  an 
early  visit  to  Ponta  on  the  coming  day.  The  doctor  was 
to  leave  them  for  the  purpose  of  trying  the  hot  sulphur 
springs  of  Furnas,  which  are  remedial  for  palsy,  rheuma 
tism,  and  scrofula  ;  and,  possibly,  with  a  hope  that  the 
beautiful  island,  with  its  rare  fruits  and  fabulous  springs, 
might  take  pallor  from  his  face,  and  the  tremor  from  his 
nerves,  caused  by  nerve-shock  during  his  dreadful  en 
counter  with  "T.  T."  as  Timor  Tom  had  come  to  be 
abbreviated  in  the  presence  of  the  nervous  young  medico. 

As  usual,  Miss  Allston  importuned  the  mate  to  tell 
them  something  about  the  island  before  they  landed ; 
as  nothing  suited  her  better  than  to  induce  the  young 


Visit  St.  Michael.  219 

officer  to  talk  upon  almost  any  subject,  when  they  were 
thrown  together. 

"  Come,  Mr.  Raymond,  here  is  a  pause  in  the  clatter  of 
tongues.  Please  tell  us  something  about  St.  Michael." 

"  Yes,  do  tell  us  all  you  can  think  of  about  what  we  are 
to  see  to-morrow,"  added  Mrs.  Talbert. 

"  I  don't  think  I  am  half  as  well  posted  in  the  matter 
as  Dr.  Greeville,"  replied  Raymond,  willing  to  give  the 
languid  young  fellow  opportunity  to  entertain  Miss  All- 
ston,  for  whom  and  to  whom  he  had  expressed  abundant 
admiration. 

"  Oh,  sir,  I  am  only  posted  on  the  thermal  qualities  of 
the  Caldeiras,  and  the  medicinal  effect  of  the  sulphur 
baths  ;  both  of  which  I  desire  to  test  as  a  constitutional 
neurotic.  You  will  find  me  as  interested  as  the  ladies  in 
whatever  you  have  to  relate." 

"  Well,  then,  here  goes.  San  Miguel,  or,  as  the  Eng 
lish  call  it,  St.  Michael,  is  the  largest  and  most  im 
portant  of  the  Azores,  and  has  a  population  of  105,000, 
mostly  Portuguese,  but  with  many  English,  negroes,  and 
Moors. 

"  Its  highest  peak,  which  we  saw  far  to  the  east,  is 
three  thousand  five  hundred  and  seventy  feet  above  sea- 
level,  and  connects  with  a  central  ridge  that  runs  the 
whole  length  of  the  island.  There  are  several  truncated 
craters  along  this  ridge,  one  of  which  contains  a  rum 
bling  lake  of  boiling  mud,  that  sometimes  is  cast  up  in 
roaring  fountains,  but  rarely  overflows  the  crater  edge. 
Some  of  the  extinct  craters  are  filled  with  lakes  of  clear 
drinkable  water,  from  which  streams  flow  down  to  the 
sea. 


22O  The  Fleetwing. 

"  Hot  sulphur  springs  abound  in  the  valley  of  Furnas. 
There  are  also  numerous  boiling  fountains,  called  Caldei- 
ras  ;  some  of  which  throw  up  water  twelve  feet  high,  so 
hot  that  most  of  it  vanishes  in  vapor.  There  is  a  variety 
of  mineral  qualities  found  in  these  hot  springs,  yet  sul 
phur  predominates  in  most  of  them.  Strange  to  say, 
cold  springs  are  often  found  side  by  side  with  the  hot 
ones.  The  doctor  can  tell  you  more  about  their  thera 
peutic  qualities  than  I  can  ;  though  I  once  convinced 
myself  that  the  cold  baths  are  less  apt  to  scald  you  than 
the  hot  ones —  as  one  of  the  latter  once  came  near  cook 
ing  me  to  a  turn. 

"  While  Flores  and  Corvo  never  experience  earthquake 
shocks,  this  island  has  been  visited  by  many  violent  vol 
canic  convulsions.  To  mention  one  of  many:  in  1522, 
Villa  Franca,  a  town  farther  to  the  east,  then  the  capital 
of  the  island,  was  wholly  buried,  and  its  six  thousand 
inhabitants  were  destroyed. 

"  We  shall  find  birds  here  in  countless  numbers, 
though  the  government  yearly  pays  for  the  destruction  of 
hundreds  of  thousands,  as  they  are  very  destructive  to 
fruits  and  grain-fields.  Many  of  these  birds  are  blown 
from  the  African  coast  during  storms.  Among  the  native 
game  birds  is  the  finely  flavored  woodcock,  and  the  de 
licious  red  partridge,  which  we  will  test  at  dinner  to 
morrow.  Rabbits  are  plentiful,  but  not  well  nourished ; 
so  that  cats  are  more  apt  to  be  served,  being  deemed 
good  enough  for  a  heretic  foreigner. 

"A  superior  quality  of  oranges  and  grapes  is  grown 
here.  They  are  raised  from  trees  and  vines  planted  in 
artificial  furrows  blasted  and  chiselled  in  the  soft  volcanic 


Ashore  at  Ponta.  22 1 

rock.  This  peculiar  lava-soil  imparts  great  luxuriance  to 
all  kinds  of  vegetation.  But  the  crude  methods  of  pul 
verizing  the  rock  are  so  laborious  that  no  great  amount 
of  these  rare  products  is  exported ;  these  fruits  are 
mostly  consumed  by  the  numerous  invalids  resident  here, 
coming  from  Lisbon  and  England. 

"  Now,  ladies,  I  must  be  excused,  for  it  is  time  I  should 
write  -up  my  log."  The  mate  bowed  himself  out  of 
all  further  talk  for  that  night,  his  secret  motive  being 
that  he  had  a  letter  to  write  to  his  darling  Mamie,  which 
could  be  mailed  in  the  English  steamer  the  next  day,  — 
the  last  opportunity,  perhaps,  for  a  long  time  to  send  to 
home  friends. 

As  the  larboard  watch  had  the  first  day's  liberty,  the 
captain  and  mate  both  accompanied  the  ladies  ashore  at 
Ponta  Delgada.  Raymond  was  to  be  their  only  escort 
about  town,  as  the  captain  would  be  occupied  entering 
his  ship  at  the  custom-house,  purchasing  recruits  to  last 
round  Cape  Horn,  and  shipping  a  seaman  at  the  consulate 
to  take  the  place  of  dead  Antonio. 

There  were  several  notable  churches  which  the  ladies 
wished  to  visit.  Some  ancient  and  moss-grown  with  the 
attrition  of  centuries ;  others  modern  and  interesting,  of 
real  architectural  beauty.  The  streets  of  the  town  are 
regular,  broad,  and  straight.  Most  of  the  houses  are  built 
of  stone,  made  dazzling  to  the  eye  by  whitewash.  Quaint 
one-ox  vehicles  were  perambulating  about  the  streets, 
having  massive,  wooden,  spokeless  wheels,  which  claimed 
the  privilege  of  all  greaseless  go-carts,  to  creak  and  groan 
to  their  hearts'  content. 

The  party  dined  at  the  principal  hotel,  having  previously 


222  The  Fleetiving. 

ordered  a  game  dinner  for  mid-afternoon,  and  would  have 
enjoyed  their  palatable  meal  but  for  the  everlasting 
stench  of  garlic  in  the  stews  eaten  by  others  around  them. 
The  markets  of  the  place  were  well  stocked  with  a  good 
variety  of  fruits,  so  that  the  dessert  added  much  to  the 
gustatory  pleasure  of  their  dinner. 

Sailors  from  the  Fleetwing  were  frequently  seen  gal 
loping  about  the  town  in  high  glee.  Some  of  the  noble 
Jacks,  having  become  slightly  elevated  from  drinking  the 
vile  arrack  of  the  place,  had  been  tricked  into  riding  lean, 
lank  horses,  which  required  a  Portuguese  lad  to  go  behind 
with  a  sharp  stick  to  spur  the  tottering  beast,  lest  he  fall 
by  the  wayside. 

With  greater  show  of  sagacity,  some  of  the  agile  horse 
boys  ran  ahead  of  their  equine  skeletons,  dangling  a  tuft 
of  grass,  a  turnip,  or  a  cabbage,  from  a  stick,  coaxing  the 
hungry  beasts  to  follow  by  the  oft-repeated  promise  of  a 
sumptuous  meal  if  the  limping  animal  survived  the  jour 
ney.  It  often  required  considerable  diplomacy  to  induce 
these  inebriate  sailors  to  believe  that  they  were  really  riding 
upon  the  most  spirited  steeds  of  the  place.  At  such  times 
an  additional  glass  of  arrack  was  found  a  good  expendi 
ture  to  convince  a  drunken  sailor  of  the  beauty  and  speed 
of  his  horse. 

There  were  a  few  well  mounted  Jacks  —  sailors  with 
copper-lined  rum-lockers,  such  as  Crawford  and  Buntline, 
who,  having  first  choice  from  the  collective  livery  of  the 
town,  secured  passable  animals.  These  gallant  tars,  not 
having  imbibed  sufficient  arrack  to  blot  out  the  lubber 
point  of  the  compass,  managed  to  steer  their  own  craft, 
and  tend  their  own  jib-sheets.  The  only  danger  of  total 


Jack  on  Horseback.  223 

wreck  was  presented  at  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  where 
these  worthies  were  compelled  to  tack,  or  wear  ship,  for 
the  purpose  of  occasionally  coining  to  anchor  at  the  grog 
shops.  And  as  even  horses  are  found  to  be  the  fleetest 
when  homeward  bound,  woe  to  the  razor-backed  hogs,  or 
tethered  goats,  which  then  got  athwart  their  hawse  while 
under  full  sail,  and  running  with  free  sheets  down  some  of 
the  water-side  streets  of  the  town. 

Several  of  the  Portuguese  from  the  Fleetwing  were 
natives  of  Ponta.  These  took  it  upon  themselves  to  feast 
their  Yankee  shipmates  bountifully.  Even  old  Tom,  who 
had  thrashed  two  of  their  number  the  first  night  out  from 
home,  was  now  sumptuously  entertained,  and  toasted  in 
many  a  bumper  as  the  hero  of  the  forecastle  ;  thus  even 
a  rude,  illiterate  sailor  makes  just  distinction  between  a 
bully,  who  fights  for  the  love  of  it,  and  a  big-fisted  bruiser 
who  breaks  your  head  because  of  your  little  error  in 
drawing  a  knife  or  stealing  his  grub. 

A  bushel  of  the  lava-raised  oranges  was  given  to  Tom 
when  he  went  aboard,  and  the  pretty  wife  of  his  Portuguese 
host  kissed  the  old  hero  with  an  amount  of  zeal  and  grace 
which  showed  her  appreciation  of  the  man  who  had  pre 
vented  her  drunken  husband  from  murdering  his  ship 
mates.  Thus  one  cannot  quite  decide  whether  the 
oranges  were  given  as  a  peace-offering,  or  as  a  token  of 
Tom's  even-handed  justice  when  knocking  down  a  Portu 
guese  or  ruling  over  other  little  broils  in  his  autocratic 
kingdom. 

Late  in  the  afternoon,  Captain  Talbert  joined  the  party, 
ready  to  go  aboard.  Raymond  signalled  the  ship  for  a 
boat,  and  about  an  hour  before  sunset  the  merry  group 


224  The  Fteetwing. 

were  pulled  on  board,  tired,  but  well  satisfied  with  their 
day's  pastime.  While  rowing  to  the  ship,  Miss  Allston  ex 
pressed  admiration  for  the  exquisite  robin's-egg  blue  of  the 
water,  and  importuned  Raymond  for  an  explanation  of 
the  phenomenon. 

"  Please  tell  me,  what  is  the  cause  of  this  wonderful 
blueness  of  the  sea  ?  " 

"  It  is  not  well  determined.  But  the  current  theory, 
that  it  is  derived  from  the  fine  particles  of  river-silt 
brought  down  by  the  Mississippi,  and  dispersed  over  the 
ocean  by  the  Gulf  Stream,  —  especially  about  the  Bermu 
das  and  Azores,  —  is  not  well  substantiated." 

"Oh,  that's  a  good  r.eason,  I'm  sure.  Now  tell  me 
what  makes  those  discolored  streaks  upon  most  of  the 
cliffs  along  the  shore.  I  have  noticed  them  at  Flores, 
Fayal,  and  Pico." 

"  Well  done  !  You  have  now  suggested  a  grave  matter 
for  future  generations  to  consider.  Contrary  to  what  is 
taking  place  along  the  western  Atlantic  shores,  these  mid- 
ocean  islands  are  steadily  emerging  from  the  sea,  lifted 
up  from  their  base  by  the  constant  upheaval  of  the  great 
plateau  beneath.  The  Bermudas  and  Bahamas  are  being 
slowly  submerged  ;  the  former  have  already  sunk  two  thou 
sand  feet,  as  proved  by  the  coral  bottom  found  at  more 
than  that  depth,  while  it  will  not  grow  in  water  more  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  deep." 

"  Dear  me ! "  and  the  ladies  looked  alarmed  at  the 
distant  probability  of  their  American  home  tumbling  into 
the  sea. 

So  they  chatted  about  trivial  and  serious  things  which 
attracted  the  girl's  attention.  She  was  forever  seeking 


A  Maidens  Methods.  22$ 

some  plausible  pretext  to  fix  her  rapt,  admiring  gaze  upon 
her  companion  when  they  were  together.  This  prattling 
habit  of  Asenith's  was  not  objectionable  to  Raymond, 
though  he  was  of  a  brooding,  reflecting  nature.  The 
amiable  fellow  had  acquired  a  semi-consciousness  that  the 
bright,  beautiful  girl  had  gradually  endeared  herself  to 
him,  but  not  in  the  way  she  thought  and  hoped  to.  The 
romantic  sailor  liked  to  have  Miss  Allston  impersonate 
his  loved  Mary  Tudor ;  and  he  would  talk  to  the  present 
girl  as  he  could  have  talked  to  the  dear  absent  one  had 
she  been  there. 

But  this  was  a  view, which  his  girl  companion  never  had 
taken  of  their  delightful  chit-chats.  That  which  in  the 
beginning  was  but  a  flitting  thought,  light  as  gossamer,  in 
the  girl's  mind,  —  a  sweet  feminine  morsel,  such  as  all 
maidens  indulge  in  for  a  moment's  pastime,  —  had  lured 
Miss  Allston  so  often,  and  been  harbored  by  her  so  long, 
that  her  embryo  conception  of  a  sailor  lover  had  now 
become  a  full-fledged  aspiration  —  winged  for  any  ethereal 
Might  acquired  by  accepted  lovers. 

Thrown  as  Miss  Allston  had  been  into  daily  contact 
with  a  man  of  such  strong  personality,  the  hourly  growth 
of  her  affection  for  Raymond  had  stolen  almost  impercept 
ibly  upon  her,  viewless  as  the  meridian  noon  steals  upon 
the  new-born  day.  True,  the  girl  made  exceptional 
advances  on  the  occasions  of  Raymond's  display  of  hero 
ism  in  whale-killing,  occasions  which  lured  the  girl's  affec 
tion  wholly  beyond  recall. 

Late  in  the  evening,  after  writing  up  his  log,  the  mate 
came  on  deck,  and  found  Braybrook  sitting  on  the  mid 
ship  rail,  smoking ;  he  was  reclining  at  his  ease  against 


226  TJie  Fleetwing. 

the  main-swifter,  and  Raymond  might  well  suppose  he  was 
in  his  usual  snappish  mood.  The  mate  compelled  himself 
to  speak  the  usual  "  Good  evening "  courtesy,  and  was 
surprised  to  find  something  unusually  social  in  the  tone  of 
Braybrook's  greeting.  This  induced  Raymond  to  tarry 
in  his  walk,  and  half  reluctantly  take  a  seat  on  the  rail 
beside  his  subordinate. 

The  quick  intuitions  of  the  mate  were  not  ill  grounded. 
As  truthful  as  the  polarity  -of  a  compass  is  the  human 
voice  when  its  tones  awaken  compassion  in  the  heart  of 
another.  Without  wasting  a  moment  in  prelusive  talk, 
Braybrook  at  once  came  to  the  mooted  point,  his  bitter 
enmity  toward  his  young  rival.  To  Raymond's  ques 
tion  :  — 

"  Going  ashore  to-morrow,  I  suppose,  Mr.  Braybrook  ?  " 
"  Yes,  sir,  I'm  going  ashore.     But  whether  I  ever  come 
aboard  again,  remains  with  you  "  ;  said  with  a  tremor  of 
sadness  in  his  voice,  almost  like    the   sob   of   a   person 
weighed  down  with  sorrow. 

Raymond's  sympathy  was  awakened  at  once,  as  by  the 
cry  of  a  drowning  man  :  — 

"  Why,  Braybrook  !  What  do  you  mean  ? " 
"  I  mean,  sir,  that  I  find  myself  a  useless  appendage 
aboard  of  this  ship.  Every  soul  in  the  cabin  looks  upon 
me  with  suspicion ;  and  the  ladies  never  address  their 
conversation  to  me.  You  hold  me  to  my  duty  with  a 
curb-bit,  as  a  Spaniard  bridles  his  mule.  I  was  shipped 
here  for  a  purpose,  but  I'm  not  equal  to  the  task  put  upon 
me ;  you  all  see  that ;  and  I  had  better  step  down  and  out 
of  this  craft.  And  if  you  say  the  word,  sir,  I'll  do  it ! " 
And  the  tears  broke  loose  from  this  fierce  man's  eye,  as 


*  The  Rival  Mates.  227 

from  a  grieved  woman's.  It  smote  Raymond  to  the  heart ; 
and  he  laid  his  soul  bare  to  his  hated  rival :  — 

"  Oh,  Braybrook,  don't  say  that.  There's  no  man  more 
needed  here  than  you  —  always  excepting  Captain  Tal- 
bert.  There  is  no  one  but  yourself  to  blame  for  your 
social  position.  You  seized  upon  your  present  hateful 
isolation  the  hour  you  came  aboard,  and  you  have  clung 
to  it  as  if  you  preferred  to  keep  us  all  aloof.  Now  tell  me 
what's  in  your  mind,  and  you  sha'n't  regret  it." 

"  Do  you  know  what  the  owners  shipped  me  to  do 
here  ? " 

"  Yes,  they  shipped  you  because  you  are  a  good  whale 
man,  and  a  prime  officer,"  replied  Raymond,  willing  to 
let  his  crushed  rival  believe  that  was  the  extent  of  his 
knowledge. 

"  That  isn't  the  way  I  put  it.  The  damned  hypocrites 
lured  me  into  this  ship  to  do  the  whaling,  they  said, — 
'  Joe  Bailey  and  me.'  The  lying  hounds  confessed  you 
were  a  good  officer,  but  hadn't  much  experience  with 
whales  ;  when  the  fact  is  neither  Joe  Bailey  nor  I  either 
can  hold  a  candle  to  you  —  the  best  day  we  ever  saw"; 
and  the  angry  officer  pounded  the  rail  with  his  huge  fist, 
to  demonstrate  how  he  would  pummel  the  dissembling 
agent  if  he  had  him  in  hand. 

"Oh,  that  isn't  so,  Braybrook.  I  have  simply  had  a 
spirt  of  good  luck,  and  yours  must  follow ;  have  no  fear 
of  that." 

"  Luck  be  hanged  !  I've  seen  something  of  whale-killing 
in  my  twenty  years'  experience  ;  and  never  before  saw  a 
boat-header  willing  to  ship  in  his  oars  and  grapple  a 
fighting  whale  with  teeth  and  nails  —  as  a  tiger  tackles  a 


228  The  Flectwing. 

bullock.  I  tell  you,  sir,  mine  is  a  kind  of  luck  that 
shames  me  more  than  I  can  bear.  It  will  consign  me  to 
a  second  mate's  berth  to  the  end  of  my  days."  There  was 
almost  a  sob  in  the  arrogant  voice  of  the  rough,  stern  man. 

"  Tell  me  squarely,  Braybrook,  what  I  can  do  to  make 
you  feel  better  about  this  matter? " 

"  Do,  sir !  Damn  it,  you  can  give  me  a  chance  to  hook 
to  a  whale,  and  lighten  this  load  of  disgrace.  Twenty 
years  a  spouter  !  and  still  heading  the  waist-boat,  is  hard 
for  a  man  of  my  mettle  to  bear." 

"  Certainly !  I  will  give  you  a  chance  to  lead  the 
whaling  a  few  times ;  and  I  will  keep  back,  that  you  may 
kill  your  own  whale.  But  please  don't  ask  to  kill  my 
whales,  for  I  mean  to  kill  my  own  whenever  I  can." 

"  No  fear  of  your  not  killing  your  own,  if  you  run 
amuck  with  'em  as  you  did  with  the  last.  I,  for  one, 
won't  put  my  head  where  you  do,  if  I  never  kill  a 
whale." 

"  Well,  Braybrook,  shake  hands  and  let  us  be  friends. 
You  have  hated  me  from  the  moment  we  met,  without  just 
cause,  and  it  has  not  worked  well.  Now  let  us  begin 
anew.  Promise  to  come  straight  to  me  with  any  difficulty 
which  may  arise  between  us,  and  I  will  right  the  wrong 
for  you,  at  whatever  cost." 

"  I'll  do  it.  God  bless  you,  Charlie  Raymond  !  I  saw 
you  were  the  better  man,  when  we  met ;  but  it  has  been 
durned  hard  to  confess  it,  as  you  have  seen." 

And  the  two  brave  men  clasped  hands  with  a  long, 
strong  grip.  Their  very  hearts  were  in  the  words  they 
uttered  when  they  promised  to  be  rivals  no  more. 

On  the  following  day,  the  recruits  were  got  off,  and  the 


Weighing  Anchor.  229 

empty  water-casks  replenished,  while  Braybrook  and  his 
men  were  ashore.  Late  in  the  afternoon  the  starboard 
watch  came  aboard ;  and  before  dark  the  ship  was  under- 
weigh,  heading  south  for  the  "  Steen  Ground,"  a  resort 
for  sperm  whales  which  is  about  nine  hundred  miles  from 
the  Azores. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

DISCLOSING   SOME   SECRETS   OF   THE   SEA. 

TT  was  a  pleasant  evening  without.  Ever)'  drawing  sail 
1  was  set,  and  the  ship  was  loitering  along  over  the 
tranquil  sea,  going  hand  in  hand  with  a  breeze  as  indolent 
as  herself. 

Within  the  cabin  there  was  a  cheerful  scene  of  home- 
life  at  sea,  in  keeping  with  the  quiet  night  without.  The 
swinging  lamps  were  lighted,  and  swayed  lazily  to  and  fro 
in  concert  with  the  slow,  easy  roll  of  the  vessel  as  she  felt 
the  gentle  beam-swell  rolling  in  from  the  east.  This 
monotonous  motion  of  the  swaying  lampligTit  made  an 
incessant  glitter,  which  flashed  from  every  coigne  and 
facet  of  glassware  and  metallic  implement  about  the 
saloon. 

The  child  lay  sleeping  in  her  bed,  rocked  back  and 
forth  to  the  gentle  motion  of  the  undulating  sea.  Her 
little  face  was  rosy,  flushed  with  excitement  from  the 
wild  romp  she  had  been  indulged  in  before  she  knelt  at 
her  mother's  knee  to  say  her  prayer.  It  was  a  sweet 
picture  of  innocence  and  purity  and  peace,  accented  by 
the  dimpled  hand  and  few  flaxen  curls  seen  hanging  over 
the  berth-board. 

The  ladies  sat  cosily  sewing  at  the  centre-table,  chatting 
in  low,  confidential  tones  with  each  other  as  they  busily 

230 


Checkmate.  231 

plied  their  needles.  Miss  Allston  had  been  reading  aloud, 
until  the  officers  came  in  from  the  evening  walk,  when 
she  laid  aside  her  book  and  took  up  her  needlework. 
The  ladies  had  previously  been  indulged  in  their  usual 
rubber  of  whist  during  the  dog-watch,  and  made  no 
further  claim  upon  the  gentlemen  when  they  entered  the 
saloon  — for  amusements,  as  well  as  duties,  soon  drop  into 
a  fixed  routine  on  shipboard. 

Captain  Talbert  and  his  favorite  young  officer  sat  on 
the  port  side  of  the  centre-table,  deeply  occupied  with 
their  usual  game  of  chess.  It  was  the  rubber  game,  and 
the  wrinkled  face  of  the  kindly  old  man  was  aglow  with 
excitement,  as  he  studied  out  the  projected  move,  with  the 
queen's  knight,  which  he  thought  would  hamper  the  play 
of  the  mate.  The  captain  had  inadvertently  touched  his 
knight,  as  if  about  to  play,  but  withdrew  his  hand  for 
further  reflection  ;  thus  giving  Raymond  a  coigne  of  van 
tage  over  his  loved  old  skipper.  At  length,  when  the  long- 
pondered  move  was  made,  the  mate  instantly  responded, 
and  called  checkmate  !  with  a  pardonable  tone  of  triumph, 
considering  the  captain's  prolonged  study  of  his  move. 

"  Ah,  boy,  you  are  always  a  little  too  much  for  the  '  old 
man.'  But  I  don't  just  see  how  you  found  that  check 
mate  so  quick." 

"  Why,  sir,  you  got  to  fumbling  your  knight  long  before 
you  moved  him,  so  I  looked  out  a  move  to  match  yours." 

"  The  deuce  I  did  !     Well,  I  didn't  know  it." 

Lifting  his  eyes  to  the  telltale,  to  notice  the  ship's 
course,  the  captain  reached  up  to  the  chart-box  and  took 
down  a  chart  of  the  North  Atlantic;  and  speaking  his 
thoughts  aloud,  the  two  officers  began  to  discuss  the  prob- 


232  The  Fleetwing. 

abilities  of  seeing  whales  on  the  "  Steen  Ground,"  which 
the  ship  was  slowly  approaching. 

•"  She  still  holds  up  to  her  south-southeast  course,"  said 
the  captain  ;  and  he  unrolled  and  spread  out  his  chart  on 
the  table,  and  took  up  his  dividers  and  parallel  rule  to 
pick  off  the  estimated  distance  made  since  the  afternoon 
reckoning.  "  If  the  wind  holds,  another  day's  run  like 
this  will  take  us  to  the  edge  of  Captain  Steen's  ground." 

"  Yes,  I  see  it  will,"  replied  the  mate,  as  he  held  open 
his  side  of  the  chart,  and  noted  the  display  of  whales' 
flukes  pictured  here  and  there  over  the  ground,  where 
whales  had  been  seen  on  previous  voyages.  "  But,  cap 
tain,  you  are  entering  the  ground  a  hundred  miles  to 
the  eastward  of  every  sign  of  whales,  as  indicated  on  the 
chart!"  And  he  put  his  finger  on  the  numerous  pencil 
sketches  of  flukes  more  to  the  westward  of  the  projected 
track. 

"  Very  true,  my  son  ;  but  the  whales  we  saw  last  voyage, 
and  before,  were  all  coming  from  the  east,  as  you  will 
remember."  And  he  drew  out  his  old  log-book  to  verify 
his  statement.  "  So  I  have  purposely  held  my  luff  this 
time,  meaning  to  cruise  over  the  ground  thoroughly,  work 
ing  off  to  the  westward." 

"  Have  you  ever  cruised  as  far  east  as  this  before  ?  " 

"  No,"  replied  the  captain,  curtly,  showing  an  inclina 
tion  to  cut  off  further  discussion  of  this  point ;  which 
served  to  whet  Raymond's  curiosity  all  the  more. 

"  Don't  you  think,  sir,  that  whales  are  apt  to  confine 
themselves  to  narrow  limits,  when  following  an  eddy 
along  ocean  currents  ?  " 

"  Yes,  that's  what  I  have  always  taught  you." 


"Second-Sight"  233 

"  Then  why  should  you  expect  to  find  whales  a  hundred 
miles  away  from  their  usual  haunts  ?  " 

"  Young  man,  you  are  pushing  me  into  about  as  tight  a 
corner  as  you  usually  make  for  me  in  chess ;  and  perhaps 
I  might  as  well  confide  in  you,  first  as  last,  that  I  am  fol 
lowing  out  Mr.  Bailey's  directions  in  this  matter." 

"  Indeed,  sir !  "  said  Raymond,  with  surprise,  and  a 
sense  of  shame  for  the  acknowledged  credulity  of  his  old 
captain.  "  Does  he  expect  to  find  Mocha  Dick  in  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  ?  " 

"  No,  not  that  I  know  of  ;  "  said  with  a  little  confusion 
at  the  dilemma  he  was  caught  in. 

"  And  do  you  really  mean  to  shape  your  courses  during 
the  voyage  by  Uncle  Joe's  superstitious  notions  ?  " 

"Yes.  I  know  from  Captain  Seabry  himself  that  he 
made  his  last  big  voyage  by  following  Joe  Bailey's  direc 
tions.  And  here  is  a  letter  from  Captain  Brown,  of  New 
London,  which  tells  the  same  story." 

"  I  am  surprised  to  hear  that,  captain;  I've  never  seen 
any  good  evidence  of  'second-sight'  before."  And  the 
mate's  face  flushed  with  a  thrill  of  awe,  at  the  thought  of 
such  a  weird  power  being  entrusted  to  any  human  being. 

"The  whales  we  have  already  taken  were  got  by  cruis 
ing  where  Uncle  Joe  advised,  which  is  sufficient  to  confirm 
all  I  have  ever  heard  about  his  wonderful  power.  But  we 
had  best  keep  this  matter  to  ourselves  for  the  present." 

"  Yes,  you  are  right  in  that,  sir.  What  a  howl  Bray- 
brook  would  set  up  if  he  knew  of  this  state  of  things.  He 
is  now  cruelly  sarcastic  about  Uncle  Joe's  piety,  which  to 
me  is  a  beautiful  element  to  have  aboard." 

"  Don't  you  think  Mr.  Bailey  is  a  dear  old  man  ?  "  que- 


234  The  Fleetiving. 

ried  Mrs.  Talbert,  joining  in  the  conversation,  as  the  cap 
tain  rolled  up  his  chart  and  put  it  away. 

"  Oh,  yes.  I  like  the  old  veteran  very  much ;  but  I 
should  never  have  thought  of  deviating  from  the  ship's 
course  by  his  dictation." 

The  conversation  was  here  broken  up  by  a  cry  of:  — 

"  Sail  O.!  "  which  resounded  through  the  ship  from  the 
watch  without.  The  captain  and  mate  took  their  hats  to 
go  on  deck  and  view  the  stranger.  This  induced  the  two 
ladies  to  catch  up  some  flimsy  sort  of  headgear,  and  ex 
press  a  wish  to  look  at  the  strange  sail.  Mrs.  Talbert 
took  the  arm  of  her  husband,  and  they  passed  out  into 
the  apparent  gloom  of  the  night,  coming  as  they  did  from 
the  strong  light  within.  Raymond  could  do  no  less  than 
offer  his  arm  to  the  lady  passenger. 

The  visible  eagerness  with  which  the  impulsive  girl 
took  the  proffered  arm  startled  the  over-modest  fellow, 
though  his  reflections  did  not  take  on  any  very  alarming 
symptoms.  As  near  as  could  be  guessed  the  problem  he 
set  himself  to  solve  was  this :  "  Why,  here  is  this  beauti 
ful  girl  going  out  to  meet  her  far-away  lover,  and  she  fas 
tens  to  me,  upon  every  trifling  occasion,  as  a  'handy 
billy '  grapples  to  a  main-tack.  Dear  me !  I  hope  my 
Mamie  won't  allow  herself  to  flirt  this  way  with  every  fel 
low  who  offers  her  a  grappling-iron.  But  then,  I  guess 
it's  a  legitimate  way  which  girls  have  of  amusing  them 
selves  behind  the  scenes  and  between  the  acts." 

On  the  other  hand,  the  girl's  pertinent  thoughts  would 
have  surprised  the  mate  more  than  her  acts :  "  Ah,  me  ! 
don't  I  wish  my  gentleman  at  the  Islands  were  half  as 
nice  as  this  noble  young  mate.  Would  that  he  were 


The  Ship  Minerva.  235 

really  and  truly  my  lover,  instead  of  being  so  taken  up 
with  that  silly-minded  Bedford  girl."  But  what  she  said 
was  :  — 

"  Goodness  !  Isn't  it  pokerish  out  here  ? "  vigorously 
accentuating  her  mimic  fears  of  the  darkness  by  snug 
gling  closer  than  ever  to  the  side  of  her  escort ;  impart 
ing  a  strange  and  subtle  thrill  to  the  young  mate,  which 
he  could  not  easily  mistake  for  an  attack  of  dumb  ague. 

When  the  group  from  the  cabin  became  accustomed  to 
the  darkness  without,  they  found  it  was  clear  starlight 
and  the  sail  was  plainly  visible  out  under  the  lee  bow. 
The  Fleetwing  was  fast  overhauling  the  stranger,  which 
wa§  soon  near  enough  for  Braybrook  to  make  out  that 
she  was  a  whaler. 

After  a  while  the  people  of  the  vessel  ahead  also  dis 
covered  that  the  fleet  ship  on  their  track  was  a  whaler, 
and  an  order  was  immediately  given  to  brail  up  the  main 
sail,  and  back  the  mainyards  ;  which  was  meant  for  a 
hint  that  she  wished  to  speak  with  her  brother  spouter. 
The  stranger  proved  to  be  the  ship  Minerva,  Captain 
Oric  Small,  an  intimate  friend  of  Captain  Talbert. 

When  this  was  known,  the  quarter  boat  of  the  Fleet- 
wing  was  lowered  and  brought  to  the  gangway,  and  the 
manropes  shipped  into  the  monkey-rail,  ready  for  the 
captain.  He  soon  appeared  from  the  cabin,  slipped 
over  the  side  into  the  boat,  and  was  pulled  alongside  of 
the  Minerva,  for  an  hour's  gam.  Captain  Small  was 
an  old  cruiser  on  the  "  Steen  Ground,"  and  was  capable 
of  giving  good  advice  as  to  the  habits  of  whales  there 
about. 

Mrs.  Talbert,  who  had  watched  her  husband  till  the 


236  The  Fleet iv ing. 

boat  disappeared,  was  soon  compelled  to  go  into  the 
cabin  at  the  call  of  her  child,  who  was  awakened  by 
the  noise  made  when  lowering  the  boat,  from  motives  of 
courtesy,  Raymond  asked  Miss  Allston  if  she  wished  to 
go  in,  —  saying  that  he  should  stay  out  till  the  boat  re 
turned, —  to  which  she  replied  :  — 

"  No,  indeed !  It  is  so  much  pleasanter  out  here  in  the 
starlight  than  in  the  close  cabin,"  emphasizing  her  words 
by  clinging  closer  than  ever  to  his  arm. 

Together  they  walked  on  the  cabin  deck,  watching  the 
shadowy  outline  of  the  Minerva's  masts  and  sails,  seen 
rising  up  out  of  the  blacker  image  of  the  invisible  hull. 
The  stranger  ship  answered  the  purpose  of  the  sprightly 
girl  to  ask  a  hundred  pertinent  questions  about  the  ves 
sel  ;  and  answered  as  a  plausible  excuse  for  her  keeping 
company  with  the  retiring  sailor  whom  she  admired  more 
than  she  knew. 

Adroitly  the  diplomatic  girl  guided  the  conversation 
until  she  drew  on  the  ever-present  subject  of  Raymond's 
love  for  Mary  Tudor;  that  she  might  proffer  her  sympa 
thy  for  the  hundredth  time,  dilating  upon  the  cruelty  of 
such  a  separation.  The  girl  was  observing  enough  to 
see  that,  as  yet,  this  was  the  only  bond  between  them 
sufficient  to  make  her  company  seem  better  than  her  ab 
sence  to  the  lover-like  Raymond,  who  loved  best  to  brood 
alone  in  the  evening  gloom. 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Raymond !  tell  me,  don't  you  expect  to  get  a 
letter  from  Mamie  by  the  Minerva  ? "  The  shy  little 
minx  could  well  have  answered  her  own  question. 

"  No,  this  ship  sailed  a  month  before  we  did,"  and  an 
audible  sigh  disclosed  how  welcome  such  a  happy  event 
as  the  arrival  of  a  letter  would  be. 


The  Odic  Force.  237 

Asenith  responded  sympathetically  with  an  answering 
sigh,  as  she  continued  :  — 

"  I  am  so  sorry  for  you.  It  would  be  such  a  pleasure 
for  you  to  receive  a  nice  letter  from  your  absent  girl,"  and 
the  artful  creature  watched  to  feel  the  delicious  tremors 
run  through  his  frame,  and  listened  to  the  thumps  of  his 
great  heart,  resounding  against  her  arm  like  the  boom 
of  artillery  ;  so  aroused  was  he  by  the  joyful  thoughts 
which  the  artful  girl  had  awakened  in  his  bosom. 

So  they  walked  and  talked  in  the  starlight,  the  fond 
girl  clinging  to  the  officer's  arm,  prattling  in  such  sympa 
thetic  strains  as  only  a  really  lovable  woman  can  do. 
There  is  an  innate  disposition  in  all  women  to  thus  sound 
among  the  shallow  depths  of  other  hearts  around  them  ; 
but  when  a  keen-witted  girl  like  Miss  Allston  obtains  the 
plummet  by  which  to  sound  such  an  unexplored  heart  as 
Raymond's  it  becomes  an  exquisite  pleasure  to  measure 
the  depths  by  her  subtle  touches  and  womanly  arts. 
Thus  she  continued  suggesting  thoughts  about  his  darling, 
and  touched  Raymond's  fancy  till  it  glowed  like  the  star 
light  which  flecked  the  sea  with  blobs  of  dancing  light. 

Only  a  woman  could  disclose  what  special  chords  of 
pleasure  were  aroused  in  Miss  Allston's  heart,  while  thus 
deftly  touching  Raymond's  receptive  heart-strings,  for  she 
not  only  imparted  an  exquisite  thrill  to  him,  but  herself 
received  one  in  part  and  in  kind  as  delicious  as  she  gave. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem  to  a  looker-on,  so  preoccupied 
was  Raymond  with  his  love  for  another  woman  that  he 
was  wholly  unconscious  of  influencing  the  affections  of 
this  girl.  It  was  his  personal  magnetism  acting  without 
either  his  wish  or  direction.  He  was  one  of  those  possess- 


238  The  Fleet  wing. 

ing  the  odic  force  —  in  whose  hands  the  hazel  rod  would 
not  fail  to  detect  the  hidden  stream.  The  steady  glance 
of  his  eye  could  stir  the  heart  of  a  receptive  woman,  as 
Luna  sways  the  ocean  tides.  The  lightest  touch  of  his 
hand  could  impart  a  glow  to  his  girl  companion,  and  rock 
her  whole  being  with  mysterious  melody. 

Raymond's  company  was  pleasurable  to  all  who  inti 
mutely  approached  him ;  though  he  impressed  the  more 
negative  of  his  companions  most  powerfully.  A  positive 
person  like  Braybrook,  as  we  have  seen,  would  at  first 
feel  repelled  by  contact  with  such  a  psychologic  person. 
A  conscious  shock  of  mental  antagonism  took  place  at 
their  meeting,  and  for  weeks  afterwards  they  silently  and 
unobtrusively  fought  out  a  mental  battle,  until  the  brutal, 
animal  courage  of  Braybrook  gave  way,  and  he  confessed 
in  blunt,  plain  words  his  inferiority  to  his  young  superior. 
Once  upon  that  footing,  they  became  the  best  of  friends ; 
and  Raymond's  example  in  saving  the  life  of  his  secret 
foe,  would  subsequently  have  been  gladly  reciprocated  by 
the  equally  courageous  Braybrook. 

Captain  Talbert  stayed  so  late  aboard  the  Minerva  that 
Raymond  insisted  upon  Miss  Allston's  retiring. 

Reluctantly,  the  self-willed  girl  obeyed,  though  she 
spent  a  long  wakeful  hour  in  her  berth,  wondering  why 
her  matrimonial  project  to  the  Islands  daily  grew  more 
and  more  distastful,  since  she  had  come  to  know  Raymond 
so  well. 

When  at  length  the  captain  came  on  board,  the  yards 
were  braced  forward,  and  sail  was  shortened  so  that  the 
two  vessels  might  keep  together  through  the  night.  Cap 
tain  Small  proposed  working  off  to  the  west  as  soon  as  he 


The   Two  Ships.  239 

struck  the  whale-ground,  and  wished  the  Fleetwing  to 
keep  him  company.  The  Minerva  had  been  kept  thus 
far  to  the  eastward  on  account  of  the  baffling  winds  ;  but 
Small  did  not  look  to  find  whales  thereabout,  and  could 
not  be  induced  to  cruise  there  by  all  Captain  Talbert's 
argument,  who,  of  course,  would  not  disclose  his  own 
secret  reason. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

WHALING   ON   THE    "  STEEN    GROUND." 

'""THE  morning  after  the  gam  was  bright  and  cloudless. 
A  At  daylight  all  sail  was  crowded  upon  the  Minerva, 
so  that  the  two  ships  could  keep  along  together ;  and  as 
the  breeze  freshened  with  the  rising  sun,  the  vessels 
made  good  way  on  their  south  southeast  course.  The 
mast-heads  were  double-manned  ;  a  seaman  sat  perched  on 
the  main  royal  yard,  and  an  officer  and  boat-steerer  were 
standing  in  the  fore  topgallant  cross-trees,  leaning  across 
the  royal  yard,  the  sail  being  furled. 

Braybrook  was  aloft  forward,  busily  sweeping  the  whole 
curve  of  the  horizon  with  his  glass,  showing  an  alert, 
nervous  tension  in  his  every  movement ;  for  a  general 
impression  pervaded  the  ship  that  whales  would  certainly 
be  seen  during  the  day.  This  feeling  had  been  greatly 
increased  by  the  ship's  passing  through  a  fresh  whale 
"glip"  just  after  making  sail,  where  the  odor  of  sperm 
whale  was  too  fresh  to  be  mistaken  for  that  of  any  other 
cetacea.  Just  where  this  whale  feeling  came  from  none 
could  tell,  except  that  the  usual  whale-talk  on  the  meet 
ing  of  two  whalers  might  have  been  at  the  bottom  of  it  all. 

The  Minerva,  by  carrying  sail  during  the  night,  had 
kept  abreast  of  the  Fleetwing,  and  had  purposely  worked 
off  five  miles  to  leeward  to  increase  the  chance  of  both 

240 


TJic  " Sfecn  Ground."  241 

ships  seeing  whales  in  the  morning.  Small  had  declined 
to  "mate"  with  Captain  Talbert  —  the  term  used  when 
ships  throw  their  chances  together  while  keeping  com 
pany,  —  possibly  thinking  that  his  great  familiarity  with  the 
*'  Steen  Ground  "  should  outweigh  the  Fleetwing's  superi 
ority  in  whalemen.  Besides,  the  captain  of  the  Minerva 
was  not  willing  to  cruise  so  far  to  the  eastward  of  his  usual 
whale-ground,  not  knowing  Talbert's  secret  reason  for  so 
doing. 

Captain  Talbert  came  out  earlier  than  usual,  as  the 
scent  of  whale-glip  had  permeated  the  cabin,  and  was  to 
him  like  the  sniff  of  a  hare  to  the  hound.  Joining  the 
mate  in  his  brisk  walk,  together  they  paced  the  quarter 
deck,  looking  with  sharp,  eager  glances  over  the  sea  at 
every  turn  of  their  limited  walk  between  the  cabin  and 
mainmast.  There  was  an  appearance  of  something  un 
usual  "  in  the  wind,"  in  their  look  and  movement,  for 
occasionally  the  two  would  extend  their  walk  into  the 
waist  —  the  domain  of  the  boat-steerers  —  and  look  ear 
nestly  down  into  the  water,  as  if  looking  for  some  change 
in  the  aquatic  aspect  before  them.  Suddenly,  as  the  two 
officers  came  briskly  up  to  the  larboard  gangway  for  the 
twentieth  time,  they  both  exclaimed  with  eager,  joyous 
voices  :  — 

"  Here  we  are  !  Water  green  as  a  leek." 
After  scanning  the  changed  appearance  a  moment,  and 
looking  astern  for  the  blue  element  which  they  had  just 
emerged  from,  the  captain,  as  if  to  give  vent  to  the  ner 
vous  tension  he  was  in,  stepped  quickly  to  the  main-tack, 
where  he  could  see  the  forward  lookouts,  and  bellowed  at 
the  top  of  his  voice  :  — 


242  The  I'lc 

"Aloft,  there!  Here  we  are,  right  among  .'em  !  Now 
peel  your  eyes  an'  look  sharp  everywhere  !  " 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir !  "  answered  Braybrook,  with  a  ring  of  the 
same  joyous  timbre  in  his  voice  ;  "  there's  not  a  thing  in 
sight  big  as  a  Mother  Carey's  chicken." 

The  previous  blue  color  of  the  sea  was  gone,  as  by  a 
touch  of  magic.  Imperceptibly  the  ship  had  glided  into 
a  bright  pale-green,  having  a  greasy  glint  of  bronze  on  its 
surface.  The  snow-white  crest  that  recently  capped  the 
dark  azure  waves,  had  now  given  place  to  a  sickly  yellow 
foam  on  the  green  billows.  It  was  as  though  the  bright 
morning  sun  now  mixed  his  tawny  beams  more  freely  with 
the  one  water  than  he  had  previously  done  with  the 
other. 

The  ship  had  run  upon  the  famous  "  Steen  Ground,"  a 
comparatively  shoal  place  on  the  extreme  southern  end  of 
the  mid-ocean  plateau  which  gives  rise  to  the  Azores. 
Around  the  southern  edge  of  this  shoal  sweeps  the 
great  African  branch  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  flowing  west 
ward  from  the  Canary  Islands,  and  continuing  west  to  the 
north  shore  of  Cuba,  where  it  rejoins  the  parent  stream, 
though  much  reduced  in  temperature.  There  is  an  ocean 
channel  15,000  feet  deep  around  three  sides  of  this  vast 
mid-Allantic  plateau,  and  sperm  whales  frequent  the  inner 
curves  of  the  warm  current  where  it  laps  about  the  two 
shoal  places  at  the  extremities  of  the  plateau. 

The  Minerva  was  five  miles  off,  having  dropped  back 
upon  the  quarter  of  the  Fleetwing.  It  was  not  long  before 
she  struck  the  green  water,  when  up  went  her  helm,  her 
yards  were  squared  in,  and  the  ship  was  kept  off  due 
west,  evidently  making  an  attempt  to  follow  along  the 


Cruising.  243 

green  water  edge  of  the  shoal.  There  is  a  well  understood 
theory  among  whalemen  that  sperm  whales  have  a  liking 
for  the  eddies  found  along  the  rim  of  shoals,  and  running 
counter  to  ocean  currents. 

The  movement  of  the  companion  ship  served  to  bring 
up  the  discussion  of  the  night  before,  and  the  captain  and 
mate  openly  talked  over  the  matter  afresh,  —  not  speaking 
of  Uncle  Joe's  agency,  however,  —  and  in  a  few  hours  it 
was  known  throughout  the  ship  that  the  Fleetwing  was  to 
cruise  far  to  the  east  of  the  usual  whale-ground.  This 
caused  a  flutter  of  dissent  among  the  knowing  ones,  at 
the  head  of  which  was  Braybrook,  who  believed  that 
Small's  greater  experience  should  have  been  considered. 

To  end  further  discussion,  Uncle  Joe  was  called  into 
the  cabin  and  asked  to  further  expound  his  views.  The 
old  veteran  could  not  promise  that  whales  would  be  seen 
that  day,  but  he  was  very  positive  that  this  was  the  place 
to  seek  them.  He  asserted  that  the  Minerva  would  not 
find  whales  to  the  west,  as  all  undisturbed  bodies  of 
whales  were  always  seen  coming  from  the  eastward  and 
must  pass  the  Fleetwing  before  the  Minerva  or  other 
western  ships  could  encounter  them.  This  was  good 
enough  logic  for  even  Raymond's  doubting  mind  ;  so  the 
ship  was  kept  on  to  the  south  till  nearly  night,  when  she 
ran  into  blue  water  at  the  southern  edge  of  the  shoal,  and 
was  tacked  about  to  the  northeast,  toward  the  northern 
edge  again. 

At  sunset  sail  was  shortened  to  double-reefed  topsails, 
spanker,  and  jib;  and  boat's-crew  watches  were  set. 
There  were  light  showers  during  the  night,  but  at  daylight 
all  was  clear  and  breezy  as  on  the  previous  day.  All 


244  The  FIcctwing. 

hands  were  called  out  early,  and  sail  was  fully  made  be 
fore  the  sun  emerged  from  the  sea.  The  ship  was  headed 
north,  running  two  points  free,  that  she  might  cover  as 
much  ground  as  possible.  The  mast-heads  were  double- 
manned.  Uncle  Joe  took  his  trick  aloft  at  the  fore,  show 
ing  a  little  more  "  spring-halt "  in  his  legs  than  usual,  as 
he  mounted  slowly  and  laboriously  up  the  fore  shrouds,  to 
the  usual  perch  on  the  topgallant  cross-trees. 

The  increased  exaggeration  in  the  old  man's  walk  was 
deemed  hopeful  evidence  of  his  rising  enthusiasm  about 
whales ;  thus  his  comical  gait  was  closely  observed  and 
reported  whenever  there  was  a  question  among  the  crew 
of  seeing  whales,  and  their  hopes  rose  or  fell  in  exact  ac 
cordance  with  the  kinks  discovered  in  Joe  Bailey's  loco- 
motors. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  in  addition  to  the  usual 
bow-leggedness  of  a  sailor,  which  is  an  outward  athwart- 
ships  curve,  Uncle  Joe's  legs  were  gifted  with  a  variety  of 
other  kinks.  His  fore-and-aft  angular  crooks  at  hips  and 
knees,  and  sharp  turn-up  of  the  feet,  served  to  conspicu 
ously  elongate  his  heels  ;  making  the  old  gent's  long  lank 
perambulators  three-jointed,  like  a  gony's  wing.  These 
manifold  kinks  were  beautifully  adapted  to  diminish  the 
sprawl  and  abbreviate  the  length  of  the  old  man's  -legs, 
after  the  open-and-shut  fashion  peculiar  to  a  clothes- 
horse. 

While  Raymond  was  telling  Braybrook  and  the  boat- 
steerers,  who  were  gathered  about  the  fife-rail  at  the  main 
mast,  about  his  wonderful  dream  of  whaling  during  the 
morning  watch,  out  bobbed  Captain  Talbert  from  the 
cabin,  rubbing  his  eyes  and  exclaiming  : — • 


The  Whale  Craze.  24$ 

"  Oh,  the  whale  that  I  have  dreamed  about  during  the 
night ! " 

Then  came  the  details  of  the  two  whaling  scenes  which 
had  transpired  in  the  "  Land  o'  Nod  "  ;  followed  by  criti 
cal  questionings  as  to  which  tack  the  ship  was  on,  and 
what  direction  the  dream-whales  were  coming  from.  Sin 
gularly  enough,  both  dreamers  agreed  that  the  ship  was  on 
the  southern  tack,  and  the  whales  were  heading  down 
before  the  wind,  which  was  at  the  east.  This  being  the 
case,  sailing  to  the  north  seemed  to  be  running  away  from 
dreamland,  where  the  whales  had  been  seen.  Neverthe 
less,  the  captain  determined  to  keep  on  to  the  northern 
edge  of  the  shoal  before  he  tacked  south,  in  opposition  to 
the  united  wisdom  of  the  main-hatch  conclave. 

Eight  bells  struck,  and  Mr.  Bailey  came  down  to  break 
fast.  Before  he  w.as  fairly  seated  at  table,  the  captain 
eagerly  assailed  him  with  the  question  :  — 

"  Where  are  the  whales,  Uncle  Joe  ?  " 

"  Mussy  sakes,  sah  !  no  hurry  'bout  dem  yare  whales. 
Dey's  gittin'  fat,  jes  fast  ez  dey  can.  Dis  chile's  bones 
am  chuck  full  ob  'parm  whales  dis  mornin'.  No  'stake 
'bout  dar  cumin'  bumby,  sah." 

"  What  sort  o'  feeling  is  it  with  whales  in  your  bones  ?  " 
asked  the  second  mate,  seeking  to  get  a  dig  at  the  old 
veteran,  as  usual. 

"  Why,  doan  yer  kno',  sah  ?  Suffin  like  rumatiz,  ped- 
dlin'  roun'  frough  yer  carcass.  Den  sumtime  it's  like  bein' 
dreffle  hungry ;  so  yo'  wanter  hab  plum  duff  fur  dinner." 

"  Is  that  so  ?  Oh,  I  have  that  plum  duff  feeling  mighty 
often,"  retorted  Braybrook,  with  a  sense  of  having  got  the 
worst  of  it,  from  the  general  laugh  at  his  expense. 


246  The  Plcctwing. 

When  Raymond  told  Uncle  Joe  about  the  whale-dreams, 
and  asked  his  opinion  about  going  on  the  other  tack,  the 
old  whaleman  deferred  giving  his  answer  for  the  present. 

As  usual  before  turning  in,  Mr.  Bailey  took  his  seat 
upon  the  carpenter's  work-bench,  beaft  the  tryworks,  for 
his  after-breakfast  smoke.  He  was  not  inclined  to  en 
courage  those  who  believed  whales  would  be  seen  before 
night.  As  it  was  his  watch  below,  he  soon  retired  to 
his  stateroom,  and  during  the  next  two  hours  the  old 
man's  voice  was  occasionally  heard  in  plaintive  tones  of 
prayer. 

Soon  after  ten  o'clock  Mr.  Bailey  emerged  from  his 
stateroom,  and  went  to  the  after  cabin  door,  in  search  of 
the  captain.  Mrs.  Talbert  asked  him  in,  and  sent  little 
Emily  on  deck  to  find  her  father.  The  captain  came  in, 
and  Uncle  Joe  at  once  informed  him  that  the  whales  were 
at  that  moment  to  windward  of  the  ship,  and  not  very  far 
off.  He  further  explained  that  though  the  school  would 
not  be  seen  while  the  ship  was  on  the  northern  tack,  yet 
it  was  best  not  to  go  about  until  trie  ship  had  reached 
blue  water  at  the  northern  edge  of  the  shoal ;  else  the 
whales,  when  seen,  would  be  too  far  to  windward  for 
lowering.  The  captain  deemed  it  best  to  keep  the  excit 
ing  news  to  himself,  and  not  even  Raymond  was  told  the 
prophecy  till  evening. 

Just  before  eleven  o'clock  the  Fleetwing  ran  out  of 
green  water.  The  captain's  voice  was  soon  heard  giving 
orders :  — 

"  Stand  by  for  stays !  Hands  to  the  braces !  Cook 
and  steward,  tend  fore  and  main  sheets  !  Helm  alee  ! " 

"  Alee  it  is,  sir ! " 


The  Mental  Mirage.  247 

"Tacks  and  sheets  !  —  Let  go  and  haul !  —  Round  with 
your  head  braces  !  Board  your  tacks,  and  aft  sheets  !  " 

The  fleet  ship  shot  up  into  the  wind's  eye,  and  breasted 
the  blue  seas  as  she  swung  gracefully  round  on  the  port 
tack.  The  yards  were  braced  sharp  up,  so  that  the  ship 
could  head  southeast,  which  diverged  quickly  away  from 
her  old  north  and  south  track,  and  soon  gave  the  lookouts 
new  ground  to  survey. 

Uncle  Joe  had  kept  the  deck  until  the  ship  went  about. 
Seated  upon  the  work-bench,  with  a  short  black  pipe  in  his 
mouth,  the  weird  old  man  sat  leaning  back  against  the 
tryworks.  Gazing  up  at  the  blue  sky,  seen  between  the 
canvas  pyramids  which  careened  to  the  breeze,  he  seemed 
rapt  in  profound  reverie.  At  such  times  there  was  some 
thing  awe-inspiring  in  the  benignant  expression  of  that 
spare,  black  face  :  a  visage  made  hideous  with  wrinkles 
and  deformity,  but  which  now  seemed  lighted  up  as  by 
some  inward  divinity. 

"\Yhen  the  old  saint's  pipe  was  smoked  out,  the  black 
lips  still  held  the  empty  thing  in  its  accustomed  place  ; 
though  his  mouth  moved  as  if  he  communed  with  unseen 
beings  in  the  air.  So  he  sat  in  his  favorite  roosting-place 
for  an  hour,  wholly  unconscious  of  the  uproar  going  on 
around  him,  until  aroused  by  the  captain's  orders  to 
tack  ship.  The  sailors  believed  Uncle  Joe  saw  whales 
in  a  mental  mirage  in  the  air,  as  they  had  seen  ships 
and  boats  whaling,  sixty  miles  away,  in  the  Arctic 
mirages. 

When  the  ship  was  in  full  trim  on  the  southern  tack, 
Mr.  Bailey  went  to  his  berth  with  a  smiling  face,  and 
turned  in  and  slept  soundly ;  for  at  twelve  o'clock  the 


248  The  Fleetwing. 

cabin  boy  had  quite  a  time  waking  the  old  gent  for 
dinner. 

Braybrook  was  the  last  to  come  from  aloft  at  noon. 
And  not  being  in  the  secret,  he  began  his  usual  course  of 
raillery,  the  moment  Uncle  Joe  took  his  seat  at  table. 

"Well,  Mr.  Bailey,  I've  looked  myself  'bout  blind,  and 
not  a  spout  have  I  seen.  I've  got  a  kink  in  my  head  that 
you  promised  whales  for  us  about  here  somewhere.  How 
is  it  ? " 

"Well,  sah,  I  specs  de  bressed  Lawd  doan  hurry  his- 
self  et  ebbry  hint  we  uns  gin  'im  'bout  dese  tings." 

"  Then  you  don't  believe  in  answer  to  prayer  ? " 

"  Yis,  I  duz,  Misser  Braybruk.  But  de  Lawd  tex  time 
to  gin  us  whales.  Fust  ar  leedle  rain,  an'  den  cums  de 
sunshine.  So  it  am  best  ter  ke'p  prayin'  till  dey  cum, 
sah." 

"  Oh,  I'll  leave  that  to  you ;  dreams  and  prayers  always 
go  backward  with  me." 

"Sorry  ter  hear  dat,  sah.  Dis  child  hab  had  sum  so't 
ob  'parm  whale  feelin'  ter-day  ;  and  I  shouldn't  be  s'prised 
ef  yo'  los'  yer  watch  b'low  dis  arternoon." 

"  Oh,  fudge.  I  shall  turn  in  all  the  same.  And  I'll  bet 
you  a  Sunday-go-ter-meetin'  hat  that  we  don't  see  whales 
to-day,  nor  to-morrow,  nuther." 

"Guess  dis  nigger  better  bet,  sah.  Dis  cullud  pussun 
wouldn't  min'  habin'  dat  hat.  I  gin  'way  all  cle  bes' 
clo's  fo'  I  lef  home.  An',  brudder  Braybruk,  cle  way 
dem  yar  'parm  whales  bin  cum  'long  lately,  dis  child 
wul  want  ar  go-ter-meetin'  hat,  and  sum  mo'  clo's,  bumby, 
sah." 

"Well,  it's  a  bet." 


There  s  White  Water!  249 

"  A  tall  hat,  sah  ?  None  of  yer  low-down  tings  sich  ez 
de  Bedford  folk  vv'ar." 

"  Oh,  yes  ;  tall  as  the  mainmast,  so  you  can  carry  a 
pair  of  boots  and  a  night-gown  in  it." 

With  a  deal  of  hilarity  the  officers  scattered  from  the 
dinner-table,  each  assuming  his  duty  or  pastime  of  the 
hour.  Braybrook  took  to  his  berth,  as  he  had  said  he 
would,  in  spite  of  the  prophecy,  which  was  received  in 
the  spirit  of  banter  in  which  it  was  given.  It  was  Ray 
mond's  turn  at  the  mast-head,  and  he  took  down  the 
spyglass  as  he  passed  through  the  vestibule,  and  went 
immediately  aloft ;  for  Uncle  Joe's  raillery  meant  more 
to  him  than  to  his  brother  officer. 

Soon  as  the  mate  could  adjust  his  spyglass  after  reach 
ing  the  cross-trees,  he  carefully  swept  the  horizon  from 
bow  to  beam  on  either  hand.  Whenever  a  tiny  sea-cap 
flashed  in  his  glass,  or  its  field  was  crossed  by  a  white- 
winged  bird,  the  mate's  heart  leaped ;  so  taut  was  the 
tension  upon  his  nerves.  But  after  a  long,  exhaustive 
look  the  tremor  of  expectation  subsided,  and  he  settled 
himself  down  into  two  hours'  thorough  survey  of  the 
watery  expanse  traversed  by  the  ship. 

Closing  his  glass,  and  suspending  it  from  his  shoulder, 
the  mate  leaned  easily  across  the  royal  yard  ;  and  though 
he  scanned  the  green  sea  closely,  it  was  with  a  mechani 
cal  gaze,  for  the  crest  of  every  wave  was  peopled  with 
dancing  images  of  pretty  Mary  Tudor  ;  and  whales  were 
wholly  excluded  from  his  mental  vision. 

Ten  minutes  passed,  and  what  a  change  came  over  the 
three  loitering  mast-head's-men!  Far  away  on  the  emer 
ald  rim  of  the  horizon  there  rose  up  a  monument  of  mar- 


250  The  Fleetwing. 

bled  foam,  showing  sheeny  white  in  the  mid-day  sun. 
The  voices  of  the  mate  and  the  boat-steerer  yelled 
lustily  :  — 

"  There's  white  wat-e-r-r  !  "  It  was  the  huge  breach  of 
a  large  sperm  whale,  which  loomed  big  as  a  ship's  top 
sail  against  the  blue  sky. 

"  Where  away's  that  breach  ? "  cried  the  captain  from 
the  quarter-deck,  where  he  was  romping  with  his  cnild 
and  bantering  the  ladies. 

"Two  points  on  the  weather  bow,  fifteen  miles  off. — 
There  he  breach-e-s  !  "  as  a  great  mountain  of  foam  again 
blotted  out  a  dome-shaped  piece  of  blue  sky  on  the  far 
verge  of  the  sea. 

"  Sing  out  every  time  you  see  him ! "  continued  the 
captain,  as  he  stood  watching  the  forward  lookouts  from 
the  main  tack. 

"  There  he  breaches  !  "  as  for  the  third  time  the  whale 
leaped  out  his  whole  length  into  the  air.  This  was  the 
last  of  him  for  that  rising. 

Buntline  was  called  upon  to  take  the  wheel,  and  the 
ship  was  kept  along  touch  and  go ;  the  weather-leach  of 
the  main  royal  just  quivering  in  the  steady  breeze,  as  an 
aspen  leaf  trembles  at  the  playful  kiss  of  the  wind. 

An  hour  and  a  quarter  passed,  and  no  further  trace  of  the 
whale  had  been  seen.  The  vessel  had  been  going  a  trifle 
over  five  knots  —  as  tested  by  the  log  —  and  should  be 
at  least  seven  miles  nearer  the  whale  than  when  last 
seen. 

Captain  Talbert  walked  the  deck  impatiently  ;  he  was 
getting  nervous  ;  there  were  thirty  pairs  of  eyes  aloft, 
and  the  usual  time  of  a  large  whale's  rising  and  sounding 


Breaching  Again.  251 

had  passed.  Just  when  the  tension  had  become  intense, 
there  came  the  bellowing  shout  of  twenty  voices  :  — 

"There  he  breach-e-s  !  "  with  such  a  yell  as  might  ha\e 
come  from  an  assault  of  brigands. 

A  long  black  object  had  suddenly  emerged  from  the 
sea,  right  ahead  of  the  ship,  about  eight  miles  away. 
It  was  the  long-looked-for  whale,  just  three  miles  too  far 
off  to  see  him  spout.  His  black  form  disappeared,  giving 
place  to  two  milk-white  columns  of  foam  forty  feet  high. 
Ere  the  foam-columns  could  fall,  up  leaped  a  volume  of 
green  water  between  —  the  last  swash  of  the  submerged 
whale.  Then  down  went  green  water  and  white  foam  to 
gether,  leaving  a  great  blob  of  snowdrift  tossing  about  on 
the  sea. 

This  was  the  typical  breach  of  a  large  sperm  whale,  as 
distinguished  from  that  of  a  thin-sided  finback  whale,  in 
which  there  is  no  after-swash  of  water  rising  between  the 
previous  columns  of  foam.  This  distinction  is  perceptible 
far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  so  that  an  experienced  whale 
man  is  rarely  deceived. 

Twice  more  the  lookouts  beheld  the  gladdening  sight, 
and  thirty  voices  joined  in  the  wild  chorus  of  shouts. 
The  whale  was  too  far  off  to  distinguish  spouts,  which, 
not  being  more  than  ten  feet  high,  were  yet  hidden  below 
the  rim  of  the  horizon. 

An  hour  and  twenty  minutes  went  by  before  the  whale 
was  again  seen.  Everybody  got  anxious  lest  the  ship 
should  overrun  the  distance  and  scare  the  whale.  But 
for  the  last  half-hour  the  ship  had  been  crowded  into  the 
wind ;  every  luff-cloth  in  the  sails  was  kept  fluttering, 
endeavoring  to  gain  a  weather-gauge  of  the  whale,  so 


252  The  Flcctwing. 

that  the  boats  should  be  favored  by  free  wind  and  fair 
sea. 

Eight  bells  struck,  and  the  alarm  became  intensified, 
for  the  whale  was  down  five  minutes  longer  than  before. 
Men  spoke  in  whispers,  and  a  hush  of  breathless  excite 
ment  pervaded  the  ship.  The  captain  came  to  the  main- 
tack  and  hailed  to  the  mate  in  an  undertone  :  — 

"  They're  down  a  long  time.  I'm  afraid  we  have  over 
run  them." 

"  Not  too  long  for  very  large  whales,  sir,"  Raymond 
replied. 

"  Could  you  make  out  just  how  the  whales  were  head- 
ing?" 

"  Yes,  sir.  A  little  off  from  where  we  sterned,  when 
the  r'yal  was  just  touch  and  go  in  the  wind." 

"  Are  you  sure  of  it  ?  It  would  be  bad  business  to  run 
upon  'em." 

"I'm  perfectly  sure  about  it." 

The  conversation  was  broken  off  by  an  eighty-foot  whale 
leaping  his  whole  length  out  of  water,  about  a  mile  and  a 
half  away.  Turning  over  upon  his  side  while  yet  poised 
in  the  air,  the  whale  tumbled  back  with  a  mighty  splash 
upon  the  sea,  now  showing  but  one  column  of  broken 
water  and  foam,  instead  of  three,  for  the  whale  was  fairly 
broadside  to  the  lookouts,  and  not  end-on,  as  before.  At 
least  fifty  other  whales  were  soon  seen  spouting  around 
the  first  one  ;  it  proved  to  be  a  school  of  large  whales. 

The  ship  had  crept  up  to  windward  of  the  school,  which 
now  appeared  four  points  off  the  lee  bow.  The  men  knew 
better  than  to  make  a  great  outcry,  with  the  whales  so 
near.  An  order  from  the  mate  to  :  — 


Lowering  for  Whales.  253 

"  Tumble  down  from  aloft,  boys,  and  stand  by  the 
boats  !  "  sent  all  hands  but  the  cooper  scrambling  down 
the  rigging  like  monkeys,  or  riding  down  the  backstays 
at  the  risk  of  their  necks. 

The  courses  were  brailed  up,  the  royals  and  fly-jib  were 
taken  in  and  furled  by  the  ship-keepers.  The  mainyards 
were  laid  aback,  leaving  the  ship  to  drift  while  the  boats 
were  lowered. 

Mrs.  Talbert  stood  near  her  husband's  boat,  holding  her 
child  by  the  hand,  watching  the  captain's  glowing  face 
with  loving,  anxious  eyes,  as  his  boat  dropped  slowly  into 
the  sea.  The  ship-keepers  gathered  in  the  tackle-falls,  and 
secured  them  carefully  to  the  davit-heads. 

Asenith  Allston  was  leaning  over  the  other  quarter-rail, 
and  the  heart  of  the  beautiful  girl  was  in  her  eyes  as 
never  before.  The  mate  had  always  contrived  to  meet 
with  such  perils  that  it  was  like  parting  on  the  brink  of 
the  grave  every  time  he  lowered.  The  girl  was  bent  upon 
having  a  last  word  with  Raymond,  as  he  stood  there  in  the 
stern-sheets  of  his  boat,  impatiently  waiting  for  the  cap 
tain  to  lower,  and,  as  he  had  promised,  giving  Braybrook 
a  chance  to  get  away  from  the  ship  before  him.  As  he 
gave  the  word  to  lower,  he  met  the  girl's  eyes  on  a  level 
with  the  rail  as  she  pleadingly  said  :  — 

"  Please  don't  go  into  needless  danger,  Mr.  Raymond." 
The  look  which  met  the  mate's  eyes  was  pleading  and 
tender,  such  as  only  one  other  girl  had  given  him  before ; 
but  he  did  not  take  in  its  full  import  at  the  time.  "  Prom 
ise  me,  won't  you  ?  "  continued  the  blushing  girl. 

"Oh,  fair  lady,  you  don't  know  the  fun  of  it,  or  you 
wouldn't  ask  me  to  bridle  my  gait "  ;  and  he  laughed  away 


254  The  Fleetwing. 

the  girl's  fear  for  the  moment,  until  she  could  almost  feel 
the  wild  joy  which  ran  like  a  frenzy  in  the  blood  at  the 
thought  of  an  encounter. 

When  fairly  clear  of  the  ship,  the  boats  headed  for  the 
whales,  which  were  then  drawing  down  off  the  beam. 
Masts  were  stepped  in  the  bow-thwarts,  sails  loosed  and 
spritted,  sheets  flung  aft  and  trimmed  to  a  beam  wind, 
putting  life  and  legs  into  the  fleet  craft  in  an  instant. 
While  the  sails  were  being  set,  the  crews  shipped  out 
their  oars,  peaked  them  in  the  cleats  at  the  bottom  of  the 
boat.  This  done,  they  caught  up  their  paddles  and  plied 
them  nimbly  from  their  elevated  seats  on  the  gunwale. 

It  was  a  pretty  sight  to  see  the  four  dancing  cockle 
shells  under  sail,  leaping  from  wave  to  wave  as  they  sped 
like  a  bird  alee.  When  fairly  headed  for  the  school,  the 
nearest  whales  were  about  half  a  mile  distant  from  the 
captain  and  Braybrook,  the  leading  boats.  Soon  after,  a 
large,  yellow-headed  fellow  came  up  quite  near  to  Captain 
Talbert's  boat,  though  hidden  from  him  by  the  sail.  Mr. 
Antoine  was  the  first  to  see  him  as  he  thrust  his  head  out 
to  spout,  and  called  to  the  captain  :  — 

"  Big  feller  jes  come  up,  sir.  Two  p'ints  off  de  lee 
bow,  'hind  de  sail  from  you,  sir." 

The  black  eyes  of  the  swarthy  Portuguese  danced  with 
excitement,  with  this  sure  promise  of  a  chance.  With  one 
sweep  of  his  steering  oar,  the  captain  swung  off  his  boat 
till  the  whale  showed  to  windward  of  the  mast;  then 
sprang  upon  the  clumsy  cleats  for  a  better  view  of  the 
whale,  fearing  lest  this  straggling  fellow  might  be  spying 
the  boats,  ready  in  due  time  to  warn  the  school.  This 
matter  determined,  he  soon  announced  his  conclusion  :  — 


Stand  by  to  Dart.  255 

"  Paddle  hard,  boys.  That's  our  whale.  I  can  see  the 
starboard  boat's  mark  on  him.  See  the  old  sog  lay 
there,  coaxing  us  to  come  and  take  him.  Twig  his  yellow 
head  when  he  spouts.  See  his  big  hump.  Why  don't 
you  paddle  ?  All  gone  to  sleep,  sure  as  the  world.  Wake 
up,  you  sleepyheads,  and  paddle  like,  thunder.  Reach 
your  blades  well  for'ard,  an'  throw  'emi  well  aft.  Hush 
there,  Bill !  don't  thump  the  side  o'  the  boat.  Don't 
spirt  your  suds  so,  Jim ;  that  whale's  got  a  thousand  ears 
in  his  head." 

"'Nother  feller  on  de  starboard  hand  o'  our  whale,  sir." 

"Never  mind  t'other  whale  ;  this  chap's  got 'our  mark 
on  him.  Stand  up  and  get  ready,  Mr.  Antoine.  See 
your  box-line  clear,  and  brace  your  clumsy  legs  in  shape 
for  darting.  Two  more  spoutings  and  he's  ours.  Put 
away  the  paddles  and  get  to  your  thwarts,  but  don't  touch 
your  oars  till  you're  told." 

The  whale  was  jogging  easily  along  to  the  southwest, 
the  hindmost  and  largest  of  all,  and  apparently  the  spy- 
whale  of  the  school.  Yet  he  had  not  heard  the  sly- 
coming  boat  following  in  his  wake.  A  breathless  hush 
seized  upon  every  soul  in  the  boat ;  the  three  green  hands 
cowered  at  the  thought  of  approaching  danger,  and  sat 
with  gaping  mouths,  endeavoring  to  still  their  noisy  heart 
beats. 

The  burly  boat-steerer  stood  with  his  body  thrown  back 
in  position  to  dart ;  balancing  his  iron  carefully,  he 
gripped  its  stout  hickory  pole  with  both  hands,  awaiting 
the  given  word.  Having  put  his  men  in  position  for  work, 
the  captain  ceased  to  notice  anything  but  the  one  mighty 
object  before  him,  upon  which  he  fastened  his  blue  eyes 


256  The  Fleet  wing. 

with  a  savage  glare.  Though  his  eyes  were  fixed,  his  jaws 
were  going  furiously,  munching  his  huge  quid,  and  squirting 
his  nicotine  fluid  to  starboard  and  port ;  often  ejecting  his 
filthy  tobacco-juice  straight  forward  into  the  boat,  at  the 
risk  of  blinding  the  tub  and  after  oarsmen,  who  ducked 
and  dodged  to  escape  the  quick  succeeding  shots  from  the 
skipper's  Catling  gun. 

At  last  the  boat  approached  within  her  length  of  the 
broad  flukes ;  a  stroke  of  the  steering  oar  and  she  cleared 
the  tail,  rounded  it,  and  headed  forward  on  the  whale. 

"Stand  by,  Antoine.  —  Take  your  oars,  men.  Let  go 
your  sheet,  boy.  —  Give  it  to  him,  Antoine  !  Second  iron, 
quick !  —  Stern  all,  out  of  the  suds.  Stern  hard !  he's 
close  under  us !  Well.  Peak  your  oars.  In  sail  and 
down  mast." 

The  surprised  whale  flung  up  his  head  when  the  first 
iron  struck  against  his  shoulder-blade,  hollowed  his  back 
with  a  nervous  jerk,  and  thrashed  his  flukes  furiously  for 
half  a  minute,  then  settled  under  water  and  plunged  head 
long  clown  for  a  running  sound. 

The  whole  school  disappeared  as  suddenly  as  the  fast 
whale  ;  as  if  each  individual  had  received  an  iron  in  his 
flank.  All  wheeled  under  water  and  headed  back  to  wind 
ward,  whence  they  came,  running  at  full  speed,  the  fast 
whale  among  them  and  probably  leading  the  lot. 

Braybrook  and  Bailey  were  close  upon  other  whales 
when  the  captain  struck,  but  their  chances  were  snatched 
from  them  at  the  last  moment;  Braybrook  being  within 
two  darts  at  the  time.  All  rolled  up  their  sails  and  took 
to  their  oars  for  a  long  pull  to  windward.  The  school 
ran  a  mile  beyond  the  ship  before  they  broke  water.  The 


m 

i 


CO 

m 
o 
o 


o 


Spouting  Blood.  257 

fast  whale  was  among  them  when  they  came  up,  but  he 
soon  straggled  behind,  turned  and  jogged  slowly  off 
to  leeward  towards  the  boats. 

Before  the  captain  could  gather  in  his  line,  Raymond 
met  the  whale  head-and-head,  on  the  one  side  ;  and  Bray- 
brook —  though  farther  off — met  him  on  the  other.  The 
mate  went  into  the  head  of  his  boat,  and  sent  Hoogley 
aft  to  the  steering  oar,  harboring  the  cunning  design  of 
not  only  fastening  to  the  whale,  —  as  in  duty  bound,  — but 
meaning  to  kill  him  at  the  same  time. 

Raymond  had  just  time  to  get  out  a  lance  and  put  in 
place  of  the  second  iron,  when  the  boat  shot  fairly  up  to 
the  whale's  life,  and  in  went  both  iron  and  lance,  fair 
clown  into  the  hollow  over  the  shoulder-blade  ;  just  six 
inches  above  Antoine's  iron, — which  ought  to  have  been 
darted  with  more  care,  —  and  killed  the  beast  at  the  outset. 

The  waist-boat  pulled  up  on  the  opposite  side,  and 
just  as  Morey  darted  his  iron  the  whale  spouted  blood, 
jetting  a  couple  of  pailfuls  of  his  life-fluid  into  their  boat, 
completely  drenching  the  second  mate  and  the  three 
after  oarsmen  in  gore.  A  shout  rang  out  over  the  sea 
from  the  three  other  boats'  crews ;  while  Braybrook  cried 
out,  with  a  touch  of  anger  in  his  tones :  — 

"Burn  the  beast!  He's  spilling  his  claret  inter  the 
wrong  boat.  We  might  as  well  dress  in  sackcloth,  and 
done  with  it.  We're  always  in  at  the  funeral  of  somebody's 
whale." 

As  the  captain's  boat  dashed  in  among  them,  Mr. 
Bailey  hailed  to  know  if  he  should  chase  on  after  the 
school. 

"  Oh,  no,"  was  the  reply ;    "  they  are  too  badly  fright- 


258  The  Flcctwing. 

ened  to  stop  for  hours.  We'll  hurry  up  and  cut  this  fellow 
in,  and  be  ready  for  them  when  they  return." 

Mr.  Bailey  was  told  to  pull  to  the  ship,  and  work  her  to 
windward,  ready  to  take  the  whale.  As  there  were  two 
other  boats  fast,  the  captain  hauled  up  and  cut  off  his  line, 
saved  the  iron-pole,  and  then  pulled  to  the  ship,  ready  to 
board  her  at  the  same  time  with  the  bow-boat. 

The  whale  ran  slowly  off  to  leeward,  spouting  thick 
blood  for  an  hour.  Braybrook  and  his  men  busied  them 
selves  about  their  personal  ablutions,  cleansing  the  sticky, 
stinging  blood-clots  from  their  faces  and  clothes ;  after 
which  the  whole  boat  had  to  be  washed  out.  The  effect 
of  whale-blood  is  to  blister  the  lips,  nettle  the  face,  stain 
the  clothing,  and  rust  the  bright  shanks  of  the  polished 
lances. 

After  the  open-air  toilet  of  boat  and  men  was  fully  ac 
complished,  Braybrook  got  out  his  pipe,  loaded  and  lit  it, 
and  succeeded  in  narcotizing  himself  into  fairly  good 
humor  by  the  time  the  whale  turned  up ;  which  was  not 
until  after  the  sun  had  determined  upon  a  watch  below, 
and  rudely  left  the  boats  in  the  dark,  without  bidding 
good  night  to  any  one. 

On  her  second  tack,  the  Fleetwing  came  up  and  took 
the  whale,  which  was  fluke-chained  and  secured  by  torch 
light.  A  flare  was  made  of  whale-scraps  sufficient  to 
light  up  the  whole  proceeding,  and  cast  a  bright  glare  far 
and  wide  over  the  ocean.  Sail  was  shortened,  and  boat- 
crew  watches  set  until  daylight,  when  all  were  to  be 
roused  out  for  cutting. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

STRIKING    A   SPERM    WHALE    HEAD-ON. 

TV /I  ORE  than  a  week  had  passed  since  the  last  whale 
'  •  *  was  taken,  boiled  out,  and  stowed  in  the  hold. 
After  such  a  busy  scene  is  fairly  over,  time  hangs  heavily 
on  the  whaleman's  hands  for  a  while.  Not  even  a  sail 
had  passed  in  sight  of  the  Fleetwing.  But  the  moon 
would  soon  full,  and  the  wise  ones  would  then  look  for 
another  spirt  of  whaling. 

About  two  hours  after  the  ship  had  been  tacked  round 
from  the  northern  edge  of  green  water,  a  sail  was  raised, 
far  down  on  the  lee  bow.  The  lookouts  soon  discerned 
men  at  her  mast-head,  and  made  out  that  she  was  a 
whaler.  Captain  Talbert  kept  the  ship  away  to  meet  the 
new-comer,  glad  of  something  to  break  the  monotony  of 
the  day. 

The  spouter  proved  to  be  the  Minerva.  Captain 
Small  tacked  about  close  under  the  wing  of  the  Fleetwing, 
lowered  his  boat,  came  aboard  and  spent  the  afternoon 
and  evening.  He  had  not  seen  the  spout  of  a  whale  since 
the  ships  parted  company,  and  was  evidently  a  little 
piqued  when  told  that  the  Fleetwing  had  taken  one  hun 
dred  and  ten  barrels,  and  had  sent  the  school  hurrying 
back  to  windward,  whence  they  came. 

When  the  captains  parted,  late  in  the  evening,  they  con- 
259 


260  The  FUetwing. 

eluded  to  keep  company  for  a  few  days ;  and  Small  now 
readily  agreed  to  mate  with  the  Fleetwing,  the  two  ships 
to  throw  their  chances  together  while  seeing  whales.  The 
Minerva  ran  off  about  five  miles  during  the  night,  to  put 
a  good  distance  between  the  ships,  and  morning  found 
them  well  separated,  with  a  bright,  clear  day  before  them. 

The  pleasant,  lazy  afternoon  of  that  day  was  slowly 
wearing  away.  The  two  mated  ships  were  steering  a 
southeast  course,  sailing  a  little  off  from  the  wind,  which 
was  light  for  the  northeast  trades.  The  ships  were  then 
nearly  five  miles  apart,  going  along  about  six  miles  an 
hour. 

There  was  no  work  going  on  in  the  rigging,  alow  or 
aloft.  The  deck  watch  strove  to  kill  time  by  smoking, 
reading,  and  yarning  ;  the  latter  function  being  of  such  a 
soporific  order  that  most  of  the  story-tellers'  audience 
were  asleep.  A  languid,  do-nothing  feeling  seemed  to 
have  seized  upon  all  but  the  lookouts  aloft,  and  the  man 
at  the  wheel.  The  probability  of  seeing  whales  that  day 
was  becoming  very  small,  when,  suddenly,  Braybrook 
hailed  down  from  aloft  with  a  voice  loud  enough  to  waken 
the  dead,  —  causing  a  dozen  sleepers  to  spring  to  their 
feet  with  a  stupid,  inquisitive  stare  :  — 

"On  deck  there!  The  Minerva  is  manoeuvring  as  if 
she  saw  whales.  She's  keeping  away  dead  afore  the 
wind." 

"  All  right.  Watch  her  sharply,"  answered  Raymond, 
as  he  sprang  from  his  seat  at  the  taffrail,  where  he  had 
been  ch-tting  with  Miss  Allston,  and  now  bade  the  steward 
report  the  news  to  the  captain. 

Captain  Talbert  came  hastily  from  the  cabin,  rubbing 


Chasing  the  Minerva.  261 

his  eyes  ;  for  somnolence  seemed  to  have  invaded  the 
quarter-deck  as  well  as  the  forecastle. 

"  What's  up,  Mr.  Raymond  ?  " 

"The  Minerva  has  sighted  something,  and  is  running 
off  with  square  yards.  Shall  we  square  in  and  run  to 
leeward  ? " 

"  Yes,  keep  the  ship  away,  and  follow  after  her."  The 
captain  caught  up  his  spyglass,  threw  the  lanyard  over 
his  neck,  and  hastened  aloft. 

In  less  than  a  minute,  everybody  was  astir  on  board. 
The  helm  was  put  up,  the  after-yards  were  squared  in, 
and  the  ship's  course  was  made  to  correspond  to  the 
Minerva's..  The  watch  below  was  aroused  by  the  mast 
head  cry,  and  every  soul  came  scrambling  up,  blocking 
the  fore-scuttle  in  their  haste  —  the  companionway  being 
off  for  the  better  ventilation  of  the  forecastle.  Though 
but  half  awake,  most  of  the  men  mounted  up  the  rigging 
and  scattered  along  the  foretopsail  and  fore-yards,  all 
eager  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  whales  which  were  sup 
posed  to  be  seen  by  the  Minerva. 

The  Fleetwing  ran  off  nearly  five  miles  before  the  lee 
ward  ship  changed  her  course.  Presently  the  Minerva 
was  seen  rounding  to,  aback  ;  and  directly  after  down 
went  all  four  of  her  boats,  and  chased  off  before  the  wind, 
under  sails  and  paddles.  But  as  yet  not  a  sign  of  whales 
could  be  seen. 

A  half  hour  more  passed  ;  and  the  ship  had  run  dtfwn 
within  two  miles  of  the  Minerva,  when  the  lookouts  dis 
covered  a  sudden  splurge  of  white  water  among  her  boats. 
Down  came  their  sails  and  in  a  minute  more  one  of  the 
boats  drew  swiftly  out  from  the  others,  with  the  suds  fly 
ing  from  her  bow,  showing  she  was  fast. 


262  The  Fleetwing. 

The  fast  boat  was  seen  coming  full  drive  to  windward. 
It  remained  to  be  seen  whether  there  was  a  school,  or 
only  a  lone  whale.  But  it  was  believed  that  there  were 
more  than  one  whale,  so  the  Fleetwing  was  kept  steadily 
on  to  leeward. 

Captain  Talbert  called  down  to  the  mate  and  ordered 
him  to  put  in  the  lines,  hoist  and  swing  the  boats,  and 
make  ready  to  lower  quickly.  All  knew  that  the  chance 
of  catching  a  gallied  whale  was  not  worth  much.  But  as 
the  whole  voyage  turns  upon  chance,  it  becomes  the  duty 
of  a  whaleman  to  down  boats  and  chase  a  shadow  if  it 
takes  the  semblance  of  a  whale.  The  fast  boat  had  at 
length  approached  within  two  miles  of  the  Fleetwing,  and 
the  long  suspense  put  every  one  on  tiptoe,  when  suddenly 
thirty  men  loudened  as  with  one  voice  :  — 

"  There  they  are  !  " 

"  There  they  blow !  " 

"  A  big  school  of  sperm  whales  !  " 

Then  came  the  captain's  voice :  "  Hard  aport ! 
Bring  the  ship  to,  with  the  mainyards  aback.  Stand  by 
the  boats  ! " 

While  the  ship  was  luffing  to  the  wind,  officers  and 
men  scrambled  down  the  rigging,  or  slid  humming  down 
the  backstays,  leaving  a  streak  of  pitch  burned  into  the 
calves  of  their  trowsers,  or  a  stain  of  tar  on  their  hands. 
Boat-headers  and  boat-steerers  sprang  into  their  boats, 
ready  to  lower,  their  several  crews  gathering  into  position 
to  quickly  follow  the  boats  to  the  water.  All  waited  in 
the  wildest  enthusiasm  for  the  ship  to  come  to  the  wind, 
that  they  might  dart  down  after  the  prey. 

The  ship-keeper  and  his  crew  braced  up  the  fore  and 


Electing  the  School.  263 

mizzen  topsails,  set  the  spanker,  brailed  up  the  foresail 
and  hauled  down  the  flying  jib,  that  the  vessel  might  lie 
quiet  while  the  boats  were  lowered. 

Captain  Talbert  remained  aloft  to  watch  the  whales 
2nd  direct  the  mates  by  signals  how  best  to  meet  the 
-school.  The  three  larboard  boats  were  now  ordered 
down.  The  whales  being  about  a  mile  and  a  half  away, 
coming  heads  out  full  tilt  to  windward  —  a  large  school, 
reaching  from  the  lee  quarter  far  out  on  the  lee  bow. 
Captain  Small  himself  was  fast  to  a  whale  in  the  snarl  of 
five  out  on  the  quarter,  and  was  trying  his  utmost  to  get 
an  effective  lance.  The  Minerva's  three  other  boats 
were  a  mile  to  leeward  of  the  school,  pulling  to  wind 
ward  hard  as  they  could  spring. 

When  the  Fleetwing's  boats  had  lowered  and  were 
fairly  clear  of  the  ship,  the  school  was  seen  coming,  about 
a  mile  away.  Raymond's  boat  was  the  first  to  get  clear 
and  take  to  his  oars.  While  Hoogley  was  putting  his 
irons  into  the  crotch,  and  coiling  his  box-line  clear,  the 
mate  mounted  the  stern-sheets  to  get  run  of  the  whales. 
He  was  not  long  making  choice  of  a  pod  of  large  whales 
out  under  the  lee  bow,  and  ordered  the  crew  to  pull  hard, 
endeavoring  to  get  fairly  ahead  of  them.  Three  minutes' 
pulling  brought  the  boat  to  the  required  position,  and  the 
crew  were  ordered  to  lay  on  their  oars  :  — 

"  Way  enough,  men.  Heave  up,  but  keep  your  oars  in 
hand  ready  for  quick  action.  Mind  what  I  am  going  to 
say :  Don't  let  me  see  a  man  of  you  looking  over  his 
shoulder  when  we're  going  on  to  the  whales.  We've  a 
ticklish  job  before  us,  and  you  must  watch  to  get  your 
cue  from  me,  when  to  pull,  and  when  to  stern. 


264  The  Fleetwing. 

"  Stand  up,  Hoogley,  and  get  your  ideas  about  you. 
Mind,  my  boy,  keep  cool  as  a  cucumber.  Make  a  right- 
handed  dart,  and  don't  throw  your  iron  at  the  head,  nor 
let  fly  at  slack  blubber,  while  the  back  is  hollowed." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir."  And  the  black  eyes  of  the  brave  little 
Malay  flushed  with  tigerish  vehemence  at  the  fun  before 
him. 

"  Gracious,  how  they  are  coming  !  "  continued  the  mate. 
"  It  will  be  a  tight  squeeze,  John,  to  go  between  those  two 
big  fellows.  But  that's  our  chance ;  for  we  must  pick 
from  the  biggest." 

"  We'll  have  to  trail  our  oars,  to  run  amuck  'tween 
them  uns,  sir,"  sagaciously  observed  the  boat-steerer. 

"  Right,  John.  We'll  trail  the  oars,  or  ship  them  in. 
Do  you  hear,  boys  ?  Keep  your  eyes  peeled  for  the 
order."  And  Raymond  flashed  his  eyes  over  his  crew  to 
see  if  they  were  alert,  and  caught  his  meaning. 

"  All  right,  sir,"  answered  brave  Tom  Crawford,  cheerily 
speaking  for  his  boatmates.  A  rap  on  the  head  would  be 
Tom's  reminder  for  any  cowardly  delinquent  within  reach 
of  his  hand. 

"  Hoogley,  we'll  take  that  old  gray-headed  fellow  on  the 
port  bow,  the  one  with  a  grayish  hump,  big  as  a  meeting 
house  ;  and  a  white  scar  across  his  jowl,  where  a  devil 
fish  has  clawed  him  in  a  fight." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir.  I'se  got  my  eye  on  'im.  He's  mine  sure 
plumb." 

The  boat  was  meeting  a  compact  group  of  ten  monsters, 
coming  heads  on,  all  in  a  row,  full  tilt  to  windward. 
As  the  whales  came  surging  up  toward  the  surface, 
showing  a  pale  pea-green,  while  yet  under  the  sea,  taey 


Head  and  Head.  265 

rolled  up  a  great  green  billow  before  them,  fringing  it  with 
foam  as  they  broke  water.  Then  thrusting  their  vast 
heads  twenty  feet  out,  they  dashed  like  a  whirlwind 
against  the  meeting  seas. 

The  two  whales  between  which  the  mate  meant  to  pass 
were  running  side  by  side,  only  at  times  leaving  sufficient 
room  for  a  boat  to  squeeze  through,  even  with  the  oars 
shipped  in.  Raymond  had  deliberately  made  choice  of 
the  largest  whale  in  the  school,  willing  to  take  the  one 
chance  in  ten  of  escaping  a  stoven  boat  —  a  pleasurable 
peril  very  much  to  his  liking. 

A  more  prudent  whaleman  would  have  selected  a  whale 
on  the  outside  of  the  school,  as  did  Braybrook,  and  run 
little  risk  in  fastening.  But  the  largest  whales  are  always 
in  the  middle  of  a  pod  when  in  rapid  motion.  The  large 
whales  start  the  race,  and  keep  the  lead ;  the  smaller  ones 
gather  timidly  about  and  follow  the  leader. 

The  school  now  approaching  the  boat  all  came  leaping 
out  together,  spouting  and  sounding  at  the  same  instant. 
It  was  an  appalling  display  of  brute  power,  for  the  whales 
were  coming  with  frightful  velocity.  The  frail  boat 
seemed  but  a  fly  in  their  path;  an  atom,  to  be  crushed  in 
an  instant  by  the  lightest  blow  of  head  or  fin  or  flukes. 
Though  the  speed  of  the  whales  was  evidently  accelerated 
by  fright,  they  seemed  more  like  maddened  demons  bent 
upon  mischief. 

Raymond  sprang  on  to  the  foot-cleats  in  the  stern- 
sheets,  elevating  his  position  for  a  better  view.  His  eyes 
were  alight  with  delirious  pleasure  as  he  drew  near  the 
deadly  peril.  His  voice  grew  low  and  deep  and  resonant 
as  the  final  crisis  approached.  He  plied  his  steering  oar 


266  The  Flcctwing. 

quickly,  holding  it  with  an  iron  grasp,  as  he  steered  the 
boat  with  utmost  precision  towards  the  seething  waters 
between  the  leaping  whales. 

The  half  breaching  whales  had  now  approached  very 
near  to  the  boat.  Their  combined  spouts  sounded  like 
the  roar  of  a  cajtaract.  Their  downward  plunge  left  tlx& 
wild  waters  whirling  like  a  maelstrom.  The  faces  of  the 
new  hands  were  pallid  as  marble.  But  there  were  three  big- 
hearted  fellows  in  that  boat  whose  heart-beats  were  like 
the  tattoo  of  a  drum-call,  sounding  the  charge. 

"  Stand  by,  Hoogley,  and  take  your  iron,"  exclaimed 
the  mate.  "One  more  spouting  and  we'll  take  him. 
Keep  cool,  my  lad,  and  don't  dart  till  I  tell  you.  Arc 
you  ready,  John  ?  "  and  his  voice  sank  to  a  whisper. 

"Let  him  come,  sir.  I'll  plug  'im  ! "  John's  left  leg 
was  braced  firmly  in  the  clumsy  cleat,  and  his  lithe  body 
was  bent  back  ready  to  dart  when  the  whale  should 
appear  within  reach  of  his  iron. 

"  Here  they  come  !  "  whispered  Raymond,  as  he  pointed 
the  boat's  head  fair  between  the  two  uprising  junks. 
"  Brace  yourself,  Hoogley,  ready  for  a  fling.  —  Trail  your 
oars,  men  !  —  Here  comes  his  head.  Not  yet,  John.  — 
There's  his  back.  —  Now  he  dips.  Give  it  to  him !  — 
Another  one  !  —  Well  done.  Overboard  your  box-warp. 
Mind  the  line  don't  jump  the  chocks  while  the  boat  turns 
to  windward,"  shouted  the  mate. 

"  Line  all  clear,  sir,"  yelled  the  triumphant  Hoogley, 
from  out  the  swash  of  foam,  catching  his  breath  between 
the  dashing  seas  as  the  half-buried  boat  spun  round  after 
the  leaping  whale. 

"  Take   your   oars,"    called    the    mate.     "  Pull    three ! 


Fast  to  a  Bull.  267 

Stern  two  oars  hard !  Round  with  the  boat  after  the 
fellow.  — All  right.  Peak  your  oars,  and  bail  the  boat. 
Come  aft  here,  John  ! " 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir  !  " 

The  mate  peaked  his  steering  oar,  and  the  two  officers 
passed  each  other  in  the  middle  of  the  boat,  exchanging 
brief  congratulations  as  they  passed. 

"  Big  feller,  Mr.  Raymond." 

"  Yes,  John  ;  and  you  did  the  thing  neatly  ;  chucking  in 
two  irons  in  ten  seconds  can't  be  beat." 

"  Had  a  bully  chance,  sir,  an'  couldn't  help  it." 

There  was  a  cartload  of  joy  in  the  hearts  of  those  two 
men.  Though  the  black  Malay  and  the  white  mate  were 
socially  widely  sundered,  they  were  like  lovers  at  that 
moment  —  so  elevating  is  the  affinity  of  courage  in  the 
estimation  of  brave  men. 

The  boat  was  well  fast  with  two  irons ;  and,  by  care 
fully  checking  the  line,  Raymond  had  managed  to  get  the 
boat  headed  round  after  the  whale  —  a  dangerous  problem 
in  a  seaway.  Then  snubbing  the  line  gradually  at  the 
loggerhead,  away  went  the  boat  to  windward,  racing  over 
the  rolling  seas  like  a  cloud-shadow  chased  by  the  wind. 

They  had  passed  safely  through  that  perilous  gap  of 
floundering  whales  and  foaming  breakers,  without  boat  or 
oars  touching  the  fast  whale.  But  the  starboard  gunwale 
went  grazing,  bump,  bump,  along  the  head  and  bilge  of 
the  off  whale,  which  pitched  hurriedly  and  went  down  the 
instant  the  boat's  bow  passed  his  eye. 

The  prick  of  Hoogley's  first  iron  made  the  fast  whale 
fling  his  huge  body  away  from  the  boat,  his  great  flukes 
crashing  down  across  the  back  of  the  whale  beyond ; 


268  The  Ft 

causing  the  whale  to  kick  furiously,  spouting  with  a  snort 
of  fright  and  fury,  as  he  too  plunged  below  to  escape  the 
general  panic  above  the  sea. 

About  the  time  Raymond  got  fast,  the  waist-boat  struck 
in  the  other  pod  of  five  whales,  out  on  the  ship's  quarter, 
half  a  mile  away.  Braybrook's  boat  was  also  now  racing 
away  in  the  wind's  eye,  keeping  company  with  the  Min 
erva's  whale,  which  Captain  Small  was  fast  to  in  the  same 
pod. 

For  the  next  ten  minutes  the  whole  school  kept  under 
water,  running  rapidly.  They  passed  the  ship,  which 
had  boarded  her  fore  and  main  tacks,  and  was  making  the 
most  weatherly  work  she  could,  as  it  looked  like  a  tough 
windward  job  the  boats  had  in  hand. 

Mr.  Bailey  was  following  the  larboard  boat,  his  crew 
buckling  to  their  oars  for  a  long,  tiresome  pull.  The  Min 
erva's  three  boats  were  still  tugging  away  two  miles  astern 
of  their  fast  whale,  which  bid  fair  to  run  them  out  of  sight. 

The  Minerva's  pod  of  whales  came  up  first,  streaking  it 
to  windward  faster  than  ever.  Captain  Small  and  Bray- 
brook  were  in  hail  of  each  other,  their  boats  running  a 
parallel  course.  Both  men  were  expert  whalemen,  and 
naturally  compelled  by  present  circumstances  to  be  some 
what  emulous  of  each  other.  They  had  indulged  in  pleas 
ant  chat  while  the  whales  were  down;  but  the  moment 
the  school  came  up,  both  boat-headers  went  savagely  to 
work,  each  endeavoring  to  be  the  first  to  kill  his  whale, 
and  doubtless  willing  to  show  the  young  mate  how  the 
thing  should  be  done  properly. 

While  the  school  was  sounding,  Raymond  busied  him 
self  putting  two  lances  in  the  crotch,  ready  for  action. 


Running  to  Windward..  269 

He  also  kept  an  intelligent  eye  on  the  veterans  over  the 
way,  not  above  learning  how  they  would  accomplish  the 
difficult  job  of  killing  a  running  whale.  But  as  Braybrook 
and  Small  both  failed  in  their  repeated  efforts,  a  disdain 
ful  smile  curled  Raymond's. lips,  and  he  turned  his  atten 
tion  to  his  own  boat. 

When  his  pod  of  racing  monsters  came  up,  the  mate 
pulled  off  his  coat  and  rolled  up  his  sleeves,  verily  like  a 
man  wishing  to  come  to  close  quarters  with  his  work  — 
possibly  having  it  in  mind  to  pit  himself  squarely  against 
the  two  veterans  over  yonder,  for  there  was  a  ring  of 
triumph  in  his  voice  as  he  ordered  the  crew  to  face  for 
ward  and  haul  line,  though  the  boat  was  then  clipping  it 
fifteen  knots  against  the  toppling  seas,  and  the  spray  flew 
over  the  bow  as  if  a  street  water-cart  were  drenching 
them. 

A  half-hour's  hard  pulling  line  brought  the  larboard 
boat  up  to  the  very  heels  of  the  whale.  But  it  was  a 
grave  question  how  to  get  ahead  the  next  sixty  feet,  where 
the  mate  could  kill  his  prize.  Pulling  on  by  oars  was  out 
of  the  question ;  Small  and  Braybrook  had  both  failed  to 
accomplish  anything  with  their  oars.  Bowing  on  seemed 
the  only  feasible  method,  and  that  was  both  difficult  and 
dangerous  when  running  at  such  speed. 

There  are  two  ways  of  bowing  a  boat  on  to  a  running 
whale.  The  most  common  and  least  dangerous  way  is  to 
reach  forward  of  the  bow  and  take  in  the  bight  of  the 
line,  bringing  it  across  the  bow-cleat,  on  the  gunwale  near 
the  bow-thwart.  While  the  bow-oarsman  hauls  on  the  line, 
the  other  men  pull  ahead  on  their  oars,  endeavoring  to 
work  round  the  flukes  and  haul  forward  far  enough  to 


270  The  Fleetwing. 

lance  the  whale.  But  the  speed  of  the  whale  on  this 
occasion  was  too  great  for  the  boat  to  make  headway 
against  it,  in  the  face  of  the  meeting  seas.  The  other 
boats  had  also  tried  this  process,  and  without  success. 

Waiting  for  the  three  large -occasional  seas  to  pass,  the 
crew  made  ready  to  solve  the  other  hazardous  problem 
of  killing  a  whale  when  running  at  top  speed  against  a 
rough  sea.  The  boat  must  be  trimmed  well  over  to 
starboard,  as  a  make-weight  against  the  new  position 
of  the  line,  which  is  then  taken  boldly  out  of  the  bow- 
chocks,  and  brought  to  the  larboard  bow-cleat.  All 
hands  are  then  set  hauling  line  with  a  will,  though  at 
the  risk  of  capsizing  the  boat  should  the  whale  suddenly 
sound. 

The  object  of  this  perilous  manoeuvre  is  to  give  the 
boat  a  quick,  broad  sheer  around  the  flukes,  veering  her 
well  out  to  one  side  of  the  whale,  where  the  boat  can  be 
hauled  forward  square  up  to  the  animal's  life,  and  held 
there  while  running  parallel  with  him,  however  fast  he  may 
run,  or  in  whatever  direction  he  may  turn.  In  this  way  a 
plucky  officer  gets  sufficient  chance  to  probe  away  with  his 
lance  until  blood  comes  in  the  spout  —  the  final  death- 
stroke  to  the  prey. 

A  boat  persistently  kept  in  this  position  can  be  sheered 
in  or  off  from  the  whale  by  judicious  use  of  the  steering 
oar,  and  avoid  being  stoven  by  keeping  forward  of  the 
blows  from  the  flukes,  and  just  beaft  the  sweeping  strokes 
from  the  jaw  of  a  rolling  whale. 

This  method  of  outwitting  a  running  whale  may  have 
the  effect  either  to  scare  or  enrage  him,  according  to  his 
disposition.  In  the  first  case,  the  animal  will  speed  up  to 


Bowing  On.  271 

an  incredible  velocity,  or  he  may  stop  short  panic-stricken, 
and  easily  succumb  to  his  captor. 

But  if  he  becomes  maddened,  then  indeed  will  he  task 
both  the  courage  and  skill  of  his  assailant.  Yet,  if  he 
fights  against  a  worthy  combatant,  and  runs  above  water, 
the  infuriated  monster  can  neither  reach  the  boat  with  his 
blows,  nor  escape  the  lance-thrust  of  an  officer  equal  to 
the  occasion. 

While  hauling  up  to  his  whale,  Raymond  had  watched 
the  other  two  fast  boats  repeatedly  fail  to  bow  on  by  the 
least  effective  way,  using  line  and  oars,  and  had  made  up 
his  mind  not  to  waste  time  trying  their  method.  Turning 
to  brave  old  Tom  Crawford,  the  bowman,  he  said  :  — 

"Tom,  the  boats  yonder  fail  to  get  forward  on  their 
whales.  Sink  or  swim,  we  must  try  a  way  that  will  suc 
ceed." 

"  Thet's  so,  sir.  'Twill  never  do  fur  ther  larboard  boat 
ter  miss  fire,  an'  them  ere  gonies  lookin'  on." 

"  Ship  in  your  oars,  men.  Stow  them  away  handy  for  a 
quick  grab.  Hoogley,  this  fellow  don't  use  his  flukes 
much,  and  I'm  going  to  bow  on  our  good  old  way.  Are 
you  ready  aft  ?  " 

"  All  right,  an'  all  ready,  sir." 

"Trim  dish  to  starboard,  everybody."  And  the  men 
slid  to  that  side  of  their  thwarts,  ready  for  the  next  order. 

"  Tom,  have  your  '  nipper '  ready,  and  look  out  for  the 
line." 

"  All  ready,  sir,  to  dandle  that  babby." 

Taking  out  the  chock-pin,  the  mate  deftly  lifted  the  taut 
line  out  of  the  chocks  and  passed  it  to  the  stout  bow- 
oarsman,  who  landed  it  in  the  bow-cleat  without  accident. 


2/2     •  The  Fleetwing. 

Instantly  the  swift-running  boat  sheered  broad  out  to 
starboard  of  the  whale,  in  position  to  haul  forward  with  a 
little  aid  from  the  steering  oar.  But  just  then  came  three 
big  rollers,  threatening  to  swamp  the  boat  with  the  line 
out  on  the  gunwale.  The  great  seas  passed,  and  Raymond 
gave  the  word  :  — 

"  Now  haul  ahead  on  the  line  !  Buckle  to,  every  man. 
John,  take  your  steering  oar  and  guide  the  sheer  of  the 
boat." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir.     All  clear  of  the  flukes'" 

"  Haul,  men.  Haul  like  devils  !  Be^a  your  backs,  and 
put  me  forward  of  his  hump.  '  Haul  !  I  tell  you.  Hold 
every  inch  at  the  loggerhead.  Haul  ;  they  are  watching 
us  from  the  ship.  Never  mind  the  swash  of  the  seas  ;  let 
us  teach  the  other  boats  how  to  do  it.  Haul !  half  a  boat's 
length  more,  and  I'll  tackle  him.  Haul,  there,  you  white- 
livered  youngster,  what  are  you  afraid  of  ?  Avast  all ! 
Hold  your  line  at  that.  Now,  John,  watch  till  he  humps 
out  his  back,  then  sheer  in  for  a  good  set.  There  he  dips. 
Lay  on  !  '  Wood  and  black  skin  ! '  ! 

And  the  mate  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  the  leap 
ing  monster,  and  thrust  his  keen  lance  down  into  his  life ; 
churning  it  up  and  down  in  the  lungs  with  the  relish  of  a 
famished  tiger  for  his  blood. 

"  There's  blood ! "  shouted  all,  as  the  red  spout  shot 
into  the  air,  and  blew  astern  like  a  long  red  banner 
fluttering  in  the  wind. 

"  There's  tar ! "  they  cried,  as  the  second  spout  came 
thicker  and  almost  black,  as  the  mate  reached  deeper  and 
deeper  with  his  lance. 

"  Dead  whale  !  Durn  my  toplights  !  beat  thet  ef  yer  can, 


There's  Blood!  273 

over  yonder,"  chorused  in  grinning  old  Tom,  whose  face 
and  whiskers  were  dripping  with  whale-blood,  which  fell 
by  the  barrel  over  the  boat  and  crew. 

The  goring  twist  brought  on  the  iron  by  the  new 
position  of  the  boat,  together  with  the  thumping  of  the 
boat's  bow  in  the  water  abreast  of  his  eye,  so  harassed 
the  whale  that  he  tore  through  the  wallowing  seas  faster 
than  ever.  His  inability  to  escape  the  goading  torment 
finally  so  enraged  the  monster  that  he  snapped  his  great 
jaws  savagely  together ;  reverberating  through  the  boat 
like  the  rumble  of  an  earthquake. 

Oscillating  from  side  to  side,  the  whale  ran  with  his 
mouth  open.  Rolling  till  his  blood-shotten  eyes  came  to 
the  surface,  he  glared  fiendishly  upon  the  boat ;  swept  his 
great  jaw  across  the  bow,  feeling  desperately  about  for 
boat-cedar,  as  intelligently  as  an  elephant  would  use  his 
trunk. 

Still  the  audacious  boat  clung  to  the  maddened  whale, 
as  a  fleet  hound  hangs  to  the  flank  of  a  running  boar. 

Raymond  kept  his  death-dealing  lance  at  work  when 
ever  the  rolling  beast  came  back  up.  Now  reaching  his 
searching  lance-point  well  forward  into  the  quivering 
lungs ;  then  drawing  his  murderous  weapon  almost  out,  to 
replunge  it  backward  into  the  after  lobe  of  the  lung,  until 
the  keen  steel  had  cut  a  score  of  death-wounds,  making 
doubly  sure  of  his  prey.  Then  came  the  order:  — 

"  Slack  away  your  line,  and  drop  astern." 

When  the  boat  had  drifted  past  the  flukes  and  the  line 
was  taken  to  the  chocks,  the  danger  was  over.  Washing 
the  blood  from  their  faces, — as  whale-blood  makes 
smarting  eyes  and  sore  lips  —  the  boat  was  held  close  to 


274  The  Fleetwing. 

the  flukes  of  the  whale,  which  showed  remarkable  strength 
by  still  running  with  the  school. 

Bowing  on  in  the  way  described  is  deemed  excellent 
training  for  a  new  crew.  In  the  wild  enthusiasm  of  a 
"Nantucket  sleigh-ride"  after  such  a  magnificent  steed, 
the  half-dazed  crew  soon  become  familiarized  with  the 
dreadful  situation,  and  their  pallid  faces  take  on  the  look 
of  health  again.  The  novelty  of  facing  forward,  having  a 
full  view  of  the  whale,  while  he  cannot  endanger  the  boat 
by  fluke  or  fin,  serves  to  gloss  over  the  too  apparent 
danger,  which  soon  assumes  the  mask  of  fun. 

When  the  face-bathing  scene  was  over, —  washing  from 
the  blood-stained  lavatory  of  the  sea,  —  a  drug  iron  was 
bent  on,  and  preparation  made  to  harpoon  a  loose  whale. 
Without  taking  the  line  from  the  chocks,  the  boat  was 
hauled  forward  on  the  fast  whale,  passing  carelessly  over 
his  flukes ;  the  mate's  lance  having  lessened  his  kicking 
.propensities. 

A  loose  whale  soon  came  up  close  alongside,  and  the 
mate  let  fly  his  iron  square  into  his  bilge.  Catching  up 
his  lance,  he  brought  blood  at  the  next  spouting.  Both 
fast  whales  kept  together  in  the  school  for  a  few  minutes, 
spouting  blood  thick  and  heavy.  But  the  loose  whales 
gradually  drew  ahead  of  the  dying  ones,  which  were  fast 
losing  their  grip  upon  life.  Half  an  hour  after,  Raymond's 
two  whales  were  a  mile  behind  the  school,  and  Uncle  Joe 
pulled  up  and  fastened,  glad  to  get  rest  after  his  long  pull. 
And  together  the  two  crews  rode  chatting  along  over  the 
blood-colored  sea. 

Captain  Small  and  Braybrook  were  still  in  the  school, 
with  no  tinge  of  blood  in  the  spout  of  their  whales.  As 


The  Squall.  275 

the  wind  was  increasing,  and  night  approaching,  it  looked 
like  a  hopeless  task  for  them. 

The  ship  had  just  tacked  toward  the  boats,  forereaching 
a  little  to  windward  of  Raymond.  There  was  a  lowering 
look  came  over  the  sun  just  then,  and  a  black  squall  was 
seen  rolling  down  upon  ships,  boats,  and  whales.  The 
last  seen  of  the  Fleetwing  and  Minerva  they  were  shorten 
ing  sail  rapidly.  A  storm  of  thunder  and  lightning  soon 
burst  upon  the  boats,  and  rain  poured  in  torrents.  The 
wind  was  killed,  and  the  waves  cut  down  as  if  they  had 
never  been.  The  panic-stricken  whales  could  no  longer 
find  a  windward  way  to  run. 

Raymond's  two  whales  wandered  round  and  round 
awhile,  then  struck  a  bee-line  in  the  direction  of  the  ship. 
The  whales  died  about  the  same  time,  turned  up  about 
half  a  mile  apart,  almost  in  hail  of  the  ship.  The  captain 
sent  down  his  boat  after  the  squall  passed,  and  helped  tow 
the  rich  prizes  alongside. 

When  the  thunder-storm  reached  Captain  Small's 
whales,  the  whole  school  became  panic-stricken  —  a  not 
infrequent  occurrence  —  and  they  all  brought  to  in  a  snarl, 
heading  every  way ;  an  opportunity  which  the  two  worthy 
whalemen  made  good  use  of,  for  they  not  only  killed  their 
own  whales,  but  each  boat-header  lanced  and  killed  a 
loose  one,  thus  securing  four  out  of  five  whales  in  the  pod. 
The  fifth  one  had  the  sense  to  sound,  and  make  off  in  the 
coming  darkness.  When  the  squall  cleared,  six  whales 
lay  dead  on  the  windless  sea,  three  for  each  ship.  As  the 
vessels  were  mated,  the  catch  must  be  equally  divided. 

Small  was  given  his  choice  of  one  of  the  waist-boat's 
whales,  and  Braybrook  towed  his  other  whale  to  the  Fleet- 


276  The  FUetwing. 

wing,  with  the  help  of  the  other  boats  toward  the  last.  It 
was  nine  o'clock  before  the  three  whales  were  secured  for 
the  night,  sail  shortened,  and  the  hands  turned  off  to 
supper.  The  moon  rose  bright,  and  the  Minerva  got  her 
three  whales  alongside  soon  after  midnight.  The  six 
whales  averaged  over  seventy-five  barrels  each  ;  thus  both 
crews  were  made  happy  by  a  catch  of  two  hundred  and 
thirty-five  barrels  for  each  ship. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

THE    HURRICANE. 

TT  was  a  busy  time  on  board  the  Fleetwing  for  ten  days 
*  after  her  last  whaling.  Not  the  spout  of  a  whale  had 
been  seen  since,  and  it  was  feared  none  would  be  seen 
until  the  next  full  moon.  As  the  Fleetwing  was  bound  to 
the  Pacific,  the  two  ships  concluded  to  part  company. 
Small  would  cruise  where  he  was,  while  Captain  Talbert 
deemed  it  best  to  proceed  on  his  voyage,  as  further  delay 
would  make  the  ship  late  for  the  whaling  season  in  the 
western  ocean. 

The  ship's  course  was  laid  south  for  the  Equator,  with 
a  view  to  crossing  in  longitude  30°  —  not  in  32°,  where  a 
younger  master  would  have  crossed.  Captain  Talbert  con 
fessed  that  he  was  too  old  a  sea-dog  to  adopt  Lieutenant 
Maurey's  new-fangled  notions  about  currents  and  sailing 
directions.  Yet  the  captain's  old  logs  showed  long  weeks 
spent  in  equatorial  calms  where  now  a  modern  vessel 
need  be  but  a  few  days  crossing,  by  keeping  well  to  the 
west  of  the  old  beaten  tracks,  where  the  angular-shaped 
doldrums  converge  to  a  point  like  a  V. 

After  fairly  entering  the  northeast  trade  the  weather 
became  one  continuous  delight,  the  ship  scoring  four  or 
five  degrees  each  day  on  the  chart.  Throughout  the  time 
sea  and  sky  were  wedded  in  a  kindred  blue.  Look  into 

277 


278  The  Fleetwing. 

the  azure  water  whenever  you  would,  and  the  heart  was 
made  glad  by  its  greeting ;  the  frolicsome  waves  were  a 
laughter-loving  set,  crooning  a  joyous  melody  as  they 
rose  and  fell,  leaping  in  playful  gambols  as  they  raced 
beside  the  ship.  Look  into  the  violet  sky,  and  the 
thoughts  became  restful  and  prayerful  at  the  goodness  of 
the  Creator  in  providing  such  a  pleasure  for  the  eye  of 
man.  How  tender  and  loving  the  blue  canopy  bent  down 
over  the  fleet  ship  and  her  happy  crew  !  It  seemed  full 
of  a  spiritual  presence,  bringing  blessing  to  all  God's 
creatures  below,  and  prompting  us  to  send  a  return  mes 
sage  to  the  dear  ones  above. 

How  gracefully  the  wind-loving  sails  breasted  their  white 
bosoms  to  the  breeze,  through  all  those  bright  days. 
The  great  topsails  leaned  lovingly  out  over  the  blue  mirror 
beneath,  counting  the  dangling  reef-points,  which  hung  in 
triple  rows  from  their  sheeny  breasts  —  much  as  a  maiden 
peers  at  her  ringlets,  and  croons  at  her  swelling  bust  in 
the  glass.  So  with  the  three  pretty  royals,  and  the  star 
gazing  skysail,  which  were  seen  coquetting  like  a  simpering 
girl  in  the  water-mirror,  delighted  to  see  their  curved  re 
flections  dancing  in  the  crests  of  the  sunlit  sea. 

Throughout  those  sheeny  days  a  pretty  "  shadow-ship  " 
kept  ever  at  the  side  of  the  Fleetwing,  —  as  a  loving  dog 
may  follow  his  master,  —  closely  mimicking  the  very  hoist 
of  her  topsails,  the  set  of  her  staysails,  and  the  trim  of 
the  jibs.  Whenever  the  mast-heads  were  relieved,  just 
then  the  mimic  sailor-men  of  the  shadow-ship  would  be 
seen  tramping  up  their  rigging,  tarrying  in  the  tops  to 
renew  their  quids,  while  the  relieved  men  come  down,  in 
exact  imitation  of  their  betters. 


The  Shadow  Ship.  279 

When  Jack  was  sent  to  ride  down  the  stays  in  his 
Boson's  chair,  tar-bucket  in  hand,  so  the  mimic  ship  must 
set  her  chaps  to  tarring  down  the  backstays  as  well.  If 
the  ebony  cook  chanced  to  empty  his' steep-barrel  over 
the  side ;  lo,  a  blacker  nigger  than  he  would  be  seen 
doing  the  like  over  the  side  of  the  sister  ship  which  was 
mirrored  in  the  azure  sea. 

The  helmsman  had  a  pleasant  task  toying  with  his 
wheel  and  hugging  the  lubber  point,  while  he  kept  the 
ship  on  her  due  south  course,  during  those  lustrous  days. 
At  the  change  of  watches,  a  new  man  would  come  loiter 
ing  aft  to  relieve  the  helm,  repeat  the  course,  "  South !  " 
after  his  shipmate,  and  grapple  the  spokes  lazily,  as  he 
twirled  the  wheel  aport  or  starboard,  in  languid  execution 
of  his  duty.  There  stood  the  sleepy-eyed  fellow,  munch 
ing  his  quid  in  a  brown  soliloquy ;  his  eyes  roving  auto 
matically  from  compass  to  sails  ;  or  watching  some  slow- 
sailing  cloud  by  which  to  keep  his  course  ;  much  as  a 
coastwise  sailor  steers  by  a  beacon  or  lighthouse,  a  hay 
stack  or  a  church,  along  a  much  familiar  land. 

The  next  to  take  the  wheel  was  a  bird  of  another 
feather.  It  was  the  afternoon  hour  when  the  ladies  usu 
ally  sat  aft  with  their  needlework  or  reading.  There 
were  a  few  men  among  the  crew  before  whom  they  chatted 
freely,  referred  to  as  authority  in  sea  matters,  and  always 
greeted  kindly  as  they  passed.  Crawford  was  one  of 
these,  and  deemed  it  a  tall  feather  in  his  hat.  It  laid  him 
under  an  embargo  to  come  prinked  up  for  the  occasion, 
till  he  got  to  be  styled  a  lady's  man.  In  fact,  old  Tom 
often  swapped  his  night  work  for  an  afternoon  trick  at 
the  helm,  with  some  lazy,  untidy  fellow,  who  was  "  shy  o' 


280  The  Fleetwing. 

the  wimmin  folk  "  —  their  usual  price  being  a  "  chaw  ter- 
baccer  "  to  boot,  which  the  gallant  Tom  readily  paid  for 
a  smile  or  a  nod  from  a  feminine. 

Though  a  nautical  dandy  of  the  sprucest  kind,  Tom 
was  every  inch  a  sailor;  and  the  largest,  strongest,  hand 
iest  man  on  the  Fleetwing.  He  was  always  more  or  less 
jauntily  rigged.  But  to-day,  being  the  "  ladies'  hour,"  he 
was  equipped  with  flowing  blue  trowsers,  a  French  calico 
shirt,  with  broad  collar  and  flying  ties,  flowing  from  his 
thick  red  neck.  Dancing-pumps  housed  his  number 
eleven  feet,  for  Tom  was  as  lively  at  a  hornpipe  as  the 
trimmest  man  on  board. 

Tom's  shining  tarpaulin  or  neat  chip  hat  was  ever 
listed  aport  with  a  saucy  nautical  tip,  which  showed  the 
self-respect  as  well  as  the  egotism  of  the  man.  A  dainty 
blue  ribbon  bound  the  scuppers  of  his  hat,  with  long  flow 
ing  ends  dangling  in  the  wind  ;  which  further  confirmed 
Tom's  exalted  esteem  of  himself.  Yet,  conceding  the 
inordinate  vanity  of  this  old  shellback,  Crawford  was 
worth  any  two  men  in  the  forecastle,  and  was  loved  by 
the  captain  and  mate  from  long  years  of  useful  associa 
tions  in  past  voyages. 

It  was  a  pleasure  to  see  Tom  handle  the  wheel.  He 
dandled  the  mahogany  spokes  as  daintily  as  a  woman 
touches  a  piano.  His  merry  blue  eyes  rolled  sagaciously 
about  from  the  compass-card  to  the  leeches  of  the  sails 
aloft.  The  wily  fellow  feels  the  swing  of  the  ship  before 
she  fairly  swerves,  and  gingerly  gives  her  a  half-spoke  of 
the  wheel  to  head  off  every  attempt  at  deviation  from  her 
course.  A  ship  is  like  a  mettlesome  horse,  or  a  coquet 
tish  woman,  and  soon  learns  to  yield  gracefully  to  the 
master  hand,  which  will  not  let  her  swerve. 


Companion  Birds.  281 

Not  a  dough-head  nor  a  duffer  on  board  could  steer 
the  ship  in  a  seaway  like  Tom.  The  superstitious  fellows 
readily  came  to  believe  that  the  partial  jade  ever  sought 
to  play  some  prank  or  pirouette  upon  them ;  but  would 
behave  like  a  lady  in  the  presence  of  her  lover  the  instant 
old  Tom  took  charge  of  the  wheel. 

The  same  sea-birds  that  had  adopted  the  Fleetwing  as 
their  chief  commissary  a  month  previous  still  followed 
the  fleet  craft ;  though^  a  taut  rein  and  a  sharp  spur  had 
been  applied  to  her  speed.  A  large  white  albatross,  and 
his  two  demure  looking  mates  in  gray,  flew  round  and 
round  the  ship,  or  tacked  back  and  forth  across  the  stern 
a  thousand  times  a  day ;  tireless  on  the  wing  as  the  full- 
sailed  ship  to  which  they  clung.  Every  movement  of  the 
cook  while  passing  in  and  out  of  the  galley  was  watched 
by  these  greedy  scavengers  of  the  sea ;  which  would 
plunge  in  a  column  of  three,  with  a  chorus  of  screams, 
upon  whatever  scrap  of  bread  or  meat  was  cast  upon  the 
water. 

Two  drab-colored,  Quaker-looking  blue-jays,  and  a  lone 
man-o-'war  hawk  were  other  less  notable  companions  of 
the  Fleetwing.  The  blue-jays  subsisted  on  the  leavings  of 
the  albatross,  which,  though  scant,  attached  them  to  the 
travelling  household  of  a  well  ordered  vessel. 

The  hawk  made  use  of  the  ship  for  another  purpose, 
and  never  stooped  to  pick  up  a  crumb  from  her  table. 
Hour  after  hour  the  motionless  pinions  of  the  dark-brown 
hawk  hung  poised  over  the  main  truck,  always  near 
enough  to  converse  in  a  low  crooning  whistle  with  the 
lookout  on  the  royal  yard.  Occasionally,  when  the  keen- 
eyed  hawk  saw  a  dolphin  or  an  ulbicore  chase  up  a  school 


282  The  Fleetwing. 

of  fly-fish  above  the  surface,  then,  with  a  shrill  scream,  he 
folded  his  wings  and  dropped  like  an  arrow  to  the  water, 
piercing  his  flying  prey  with  open  bill  in  his  fall ;  and 
then  mounted  with  his  prize  to  the  old  poise  in  the  sky, 
eating  his  fish  while  he  flies  above  the  mast.  Thus  this 
puny  bird  deigns  to  make  a  pointer  dog  of  the  ship,  to 
start  up  the  hidden  covey  from  the  sea. 

Less  than  a  week  of  steady  sailing  took  the  ship  into 
the  calm  belt  between  the  two  trade  winds.  Two  days 
previous  to  losing  the  breeze,  great  masses  of  pearl- 
colored  clouds  had  been  seen  climbing  steadily  up  over 
the  leeward  horizon,  coming  northward,  high  above  the 
northeast  wind-clouds,  which  swept  the  ship  along  in  an 
opposite  direction;  —  evidence  that  the  ship  had  passed 
the  usual  limits  of  the  northeast  trades,  and  might  soon 
expect  the  sister-wind  from  the  southeast. 

During  the  next  several  days  the  Fleetwing  was  wafted 
along  by  occasional  cat's-paws,  until  she  reached  the 
latitude  of  3°  N.,  where  every  vestige  of  wind  left  her. 
Above  the  ship  hung  a  cloudless  azure,  and  about  her  lay 
a  shimmering  brass,  windless  and  waveless,  where  the 
noonday  sun  blazed  upon  the  water  till  it  appeared  like 
molten  lead. 

So  hot  and  undimmed  were  the  beams  of  the  equatorial 
sun  that  it  cast  a  yellow  halo  of  mirage  along  the  leeches 
of  the  sails,  and  about  every  other  white  object  that 
it  shone  upon.  The  men  could  not  touch  the  shrouds, 
when  going  aloft,  without  being  smeared  with  hot  tar. 
The  iron  rods  of  the  futtock -shrouds  were  so  hot  that 
they  burned  the  hands  while  climbing  over  the  tops. 
The  odorous  pitch  boiled  in  the  deck-seams,  and  the 


The  Ghostly  Noises.  283 

shoes  stuck  fast  to  it  when  one  tarried  a  moment  in  his 
walk. 

The  glare  reflected  up  from  the  mirrored  sea  scorched 
the  shaded  face  as  quickly  as  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun. 
The  hot  beams  blistered  the  paint  on  the  bulwarks,  masts, 
and  yards ;  and  so  softened  the  tar  in  the  hempen  leech- 
ropes  that  the  canvas  edges  of  the  sails  were  strained  by 
the  stretch  of  the  bolt-ropes. 

Throughout  this  breathless  calm  the  vessel  rolled  un 
easily  on  the  low  heave  of  a  southern  swell,  a  motion 
which  filled  the  ship  with  a  bedlam  of  ghostly  noises 
above  and  below.  Aloft,  the  chain  sheets  creaked  over 
the  yardarm  sheaves  and  quarter  blocks,  clanging  heavily 
against  the  under  surface  of  the  yards  when  the  sails 
swayed  back  and  forth.  The  clewlines  cheeped  noisily 
over  their  hot  sheaves  at  the  clews  and  quarters,  while 
the  pattering  reef-points  drummed  a  tattoo  against  the 
canvas  when  the  topsails  banged  against  the  masts. 

Below  deck,  bulkheads  and  partitions  groaned  with 
unspeakable  agony.  The  hoarse  utterance  of  the  ship's 
larger  timbers  blended  sweetly  with  the  milder  creaks  of 
the  carlines,  the  clatter  of  dishes  in  the  pantry,  and  the 
musical  jingle  of  the  glassware  in  the  swinging  trays. 
The  berth-boards  and  state-room  doors  murmured  meekly 
in  a  timid  chorus  of  smothered  pain  ;  an  unacceptable 
lullaby  for  the  watch  below,  which  produced  vocal  mutter- 
ings  not  wholly  of  a  prayerful  nature. 

The  ship  had  got  becalmed  in  the  very  birthplace  of 
the  Gulf  Stream  —  though,  strange  to  say,  the  surface 
drift  was  running  to  the  eastward  at  the  rate  of  thirty 
miles  a  day.  This  was  the  eddy,  or  backwater  current, 


284  The  Fleetwing. 

running  between  the  two  western  drifts  of  the  northeast 
and  southeast  trades ;  a  reverse  equatorial  stream  which 
ends  in  the  Bight  of  Biafra  on  the  African  coast. 

This  singular  eddy  was  first  noticed  during  the  night, 
when  the  sea  along  the  west  side  of  the  ship  began  to 
make  a  rhythmic,  tuneful  murmur,  which  greatly  aroused 
the  superstitions  of  the  sailors.  Some  of  the  croakers 
said  it  indicated  a  gale.  Others  declared  that  it  was  a 
warning  of  a  wreck,  and  that  dead  men  would  strew  the 
sea  before  many  days  passed.  Uncle  Joe,  the  real  oracle 
of  the  Fleetwing,  looked  much  disturbed,  but  would  not 
communicate  any  ghostly  predictions. 

In  the  morning  it  was  discovered  that  the  oily  surface 
of  th^  water  was  wrinkled  as  a  pie-crust  where  it  breasted 
against  the  starboard  side  of  the  ship.  The  current 
sobbed  and  wailed  like  a  crying  baby  where  it  dashed 
against  the  shining  copper,  more  especially  where  it 
glinted  off  from  the  rudder  and  ran  away  in  tuneful  spiral 
swirls. 

This  eastern  set  seemed  an  unfortunate  event  for  the 
Fleetwing.  It  carried  her  where  the  V-shaped  doldrums 
grew  wider  and  wider,  until  it  might  take  a  week  of  Sun 
days  to  cross  the  calm  belt.  Captain  Talbert  wished  to 
cross  the  line  in  longitude  30°,  but  the  three  days  eastern 
drift  took  the  ship  into  28°  30'. 

The  morning  of  the  third  day  rose  bright  and  clear. 
Not  a  cloud  was  seen  over  the  whole  arch  of  heaven. 
Not  a  cat's-paw  rimpled  the  surface  of  the  sea.  In  the 
east,  the  earliest  dawn-light  had  the  effect  to  lift  the  dark 
horizon  up  into  a  rounded  hill.  Though  this  is  known  to 
be  the  work  of  refraction,  yet  one  can  never  witness  this 


Storm  Signs.  285 

skyward  lift  of  an  eastern  sea  without  deeming  it  super 
natural. 

Just  before  the  sun  appeared,  the  top  of  this  eastern 
eminence  became  haloed  with  a  double  rim  of  green  and 
gold.  Then  up  flashed  a  dozen  great  spokes  of  a  golden 
wheel ;  the  short  horizontal  spokes  glinted  downward 
from  the  watery  hill-top,  while  the  vertical  ones  reached 
high  up  toward  the  zenith,  as  if  the  whole  circle  of  heaven 
was  required  for  a  rim. 

The  undulation  from  the  southeast  was  now  steadily 
increasing,  as  if  from  a  sudden  movement  of  wind  in  that 
direction,  imparting  hopes  that  the  calm  would  be  short 
lived.  But  for  a  trifling  fall  in  the  barometer,  with  the 
wild  cries  of  the  sea-birds,  and  the  nervous  flitting  about 
of  stormy  petrels  —  a  brood  of  which  had  recently  gath 
ered  about  the  stern  —  one  might  look  in  vain  for  signs  of 
a  storm.  Yet  one  of  the  fiercest  hurricanes  of  many  a 
year  was  approaching  the  ship. 

The  forenoon  passed.  Eight  bells  struck  the  noon 
hour  before  the  first  unmistakable  signs  of  a  gale  dimmed 
the  face  of  the  day.  In  swift  transition  then  the  blue 
canopy  suddenly  gave  place  to  a  dull  haze  of  sombre, 
sodden  gray.  This  was  quickly  followed  by  a  lowering 
gloom,  which  lifted  the  murky  rim  of  the  horizon,  and 
hedged  the  ship  about  with  fast-narrowing  bounds,  which 
filled  the  soul  with  awe,  as  of  some  unseen  evil  lurking 
very  near  at  hand. 

The  haze  which  filled  the  upper  sky  was  not  a  cloud. 
It  was  less  dense  than  mist.  It  impressed  one  as  an  im 
palpable  shadow  cast  by  some  unseen,  death-dealing  evil ; 
it  was  an  unmistakable  forecast  of  the  invisible  storm. 


286  The  Fleetwing. 

The  sea  had  lost  its  azure  and  taken  on  a  dull  slate-color, 
reflected  from  the  ominous  shadow  in  the  sky. 

Late  in  the  afternoon,  the  barometer  fell  so  fast  that  all 
the  light  yards  were  sent  down,  together  with  the  three 
royal  masts.  The  flying  jib-boom  was  sent  in,  and  the 
stunsail  booms  were  lowered  to  the  deck.  The  hatches 
were  barred  down,  the  tarpaulins  put  on  and  battened. 
The  four  boats  were  hoisted  on  the  upper  cranes,  par 
buckles  were  secured  to  them,  and  tackles  put  in  the 
rigging  ready  to  roll  the  boats  bottom  up  if  need  be. 

Before  dark,  sail  was  shortened  to  close-reefed  topsails 
and  courses.  The  spanker  was  brailed.  The  jib  was  hauled 
down  and  stowed  with  double  gaskets.  The  fore  and 
main  spencers  were  set  and  examined,  then  brailed  up 
again  ready  for  use.  The  galley  and  the  scuttle-butt  had 
extra  lashings  put  on.  Every  movable  thing  was  lowered 
down  the  booby  hatch,  to  free  the  deck.  A  strong  life-line 
was  stretched  fore  and  aft  on  both  sides  of  the  deck. 

Grim  night  set  down  over  the  ship,  black  as  the  mist 
which  Apollo  dropped  over  the  wounded  ^Eneas  in  the 
day  of  battle.  It  was  so  dark  that  one  could  not  see  his 
own  length  on  deck.  The  white  lower  masts  were  just 
visible  a  fathom  away.  Even  the  mainmast  and  its  sail 
dimmed  away  in  the  blackness,  till  all  trace  of  spar  or  sail 
was  lost  half  way  up  to  the  top. 

The  swell  rose  rapidly,  humping  up  into  a  furious  tum 
ble  ere  it  struck  the  ship,  till  it  frothed  and  fumed  like  an 
angry  surf.  The  night  air  now  began  to  grow  hot  and 
sultry — a  lifeless,  negative  atmosphere,  that  made  one 
gasp  for  breath,  almost  unendurable  for  respiration.  At 
length  a  puff  of  wind  struck  the  sails  while  the  ship  lay 


The  Night  Gale.  287 

wallowing  in  the  trough  of  the  sea.  The  puff  quickened 
to  a  breeze, — hot  as  from  a  furnace,  —  and  the  vessel 
luffed  slowly  until  she  took  the  largest  swell  on  her  port 
bow.  This  new  position  eased  up  on  her  rolling,  but  made 
the  antic  thing  pitch  heavily,  capering  about  like  a  teth 
ered  goat. 

After  a  long,  anxious  hour  of  this  prelusive  annoyance, 
the  gale  struck,  coming  with  a  thunder-gust  from  the 
south,  in  squalls  of  wind,  rain,  and  vivid  sheets  of  light 
ning,  which  illuminated  the  blackness  like  the  outburst  of 
a  volcano.  The  wind  shrieked,  and  the  billows  howled,  as 
the  two  mad  elements  battered  against  the  listed  ship, 
intent  upon  her  destruction.  It  seemed  as  if  all  the 
spirits  of  demolition  were  abroad  on  the  warpath. 
Though  the  rain  ceased  after  the  first  onslaught,  the  thun 
der  became  more  terrific,  —  a  trifle  louder  than  the  roar  of 
the  boarding  seas  ;  but  that,  too,  passed  away,  and  the  wind 
took  full  possession. 

With  nothing  remaining  to  curb  their  madness,  the 
billows  now  toppled  up  into  mountains  of  bellowing 
breakers.  The  hideous  noise  of  the  canvas  when  it  shook 
in  the  increasing  gale,  the  crash  of  the  waves  as  they 
struck  the  bow  and  swept  across  the  deck,  together  with 
the  unearthly  shrieks  from  the  rigging,  when  heard  midst 
such  inky  blackness,  sounded  like  an  orchestra  of  demons 
from  Inferno,  rather  than  the  natural  crescendo  of  earthly 
noises  when  put  to  their  worst.  It  was  a  scene  to  startle 
the  boldest  seaman  on  board ;  a  pandemonium  sufficient 
to  terrify  a  landsman  till  he  quaked  with  fear  and  wished 
for  the  home  fireside. 

Captain  Talbert  and  the  mate  kept  the  deck  for  several 


288  The  Fleet  wing. 

hours,  and  retired  to  the  cabin  at  ten  o'clock,  thinking 
the  gale  was  at  its  worst,  and  the  ship  would  carry  her 
canvas  through  the  night.  The  captain  slipped  into  his 
swinging  berth  and  was  soon  asleep,  forgetful  of  wind, 
seas,  and  the  pitching  ship.  The  mate  turned  in  on  the 
soft  side  of  his  mahogany  chest,  booted  and  otherwise 
equipped,  with  oil-cloth  coat  and  souwester,  ready  for  a 
bit  more  fun  about  midnight.  The  barometer  was  still 
tumbling  frightfully,  showing  that  the  worst  had  been  kept 
in  reserve.  Suddenly  Raymond  heard  the  second  mate 
yelling  at  the  top  of  his  deep,  hoarse  voice  :  — 

"Take  in  the  mainsail!  Man  the  clew-garnets,  and 
buntlines  !  Ease  away  the  main-tack,  when  you're  ready  !  " 

Braybrook's  bass  notes  were  in  such  accord  with  the 
wind,  that  the  men  had  not  heard  readily  from  their 
shelter  aft  under  the  weather-rail.  His  tones  were  a 
thousand  notes  below  the  shriek  of  the  gale.  Raymond 
sprang  out,  and,  taking  in  the  situation,  he  gave  counter- 
orders  :  — 

"  Hold  fast  the  main-tack !  Har-r-r-d  a-weather  yer 
helm  !  Clew  up  mizzentops'il !  "  The  mate's  voice  was 
set  to  a  different  key  from  Braybrook's,  and  it  pierced 
through  the  screaming  wind  and  the  rumble  of  the  seas 
like  the  shriek  of  a  steam  whistle. 

Had  the  main-tack  been  let  go  at  Braybrook's  order, 
the  mainyard  would  have  snapped  off  in  an  instant.  As 
it  was,  the  weather-leech  of  the  mainsail  supported  the 
yard  for  the  clew  of  the  topsail  to  tug  at.  Braybrook  had 
seen  evidence  of  an  "  Ox-eyed  "  squall  coming,  and  had 
gone  to  work  hastily,  for  the  danger  was  imminent. 

As  soon  as  the  mizzentopsail  was  clewed  up,  the  ship 


The  Hurricane.  289 

felt  her  helm,  and  swung  off  before  the  wind.  The  main 
sail  was  taken  in  and  furled ;  then  the  mizzentopsail  was 
snugged,  while  the  ship  was  kept  before  the  gale  to 
receive  the  coming  squall.  The  first  of  the  gale  blew 
from  the  south.  The  squall  now  came  from  the  southeast, 
blowing  with  much  greater  force  ;  denoting  a  circular  gale, 
working  round  against  the  hands  of  a  clock.  The  ship 
scud  well,  though  the  waves  ran  up  into  gigantic  combers, 
each  sea  topped  out  with  an  acre  of  foam.  So  high  were 
some  of  the  larger  billows  that  the  vessel  hung  in  a 
breathless  gasp,  ere  she  rounded  up  over  their  steep 
declivities ;  and  then  pitched  dizzily  downward,  with  a 
long,  never-ending  plunge  into  the  windless  gulf  below. 

Seeing  that  the  ship  made  better  weather  scudding  than 
lying  to,  and  that  the  storm-centre  had  passed  to  the  west, 
Raymond  took  the  responsibility  to  let  her  run  with  the 
gale,  as  the  barometer  was  still  falling,  and  the  worst  was 
yet  to  come.  At  daylight  the  wind  suddenly  came  out 
east,  and  increased  to  a  furious  hurricane,  blowing  a 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  an  hour;  such  a  gale  as  the 
oldest  seaman  rarely  sees  in  a  lifetime.  The  whole  face 
of  the  waters  now  put  on  a  different  appearance.  The 
wind  blew  with  such  force  that  the  largest  seas  were 
battered  down  by  the  mere  momentum  of  the  gale  — 
crushed  flat  by  dynamic  wind-weight  —  as  an  Alpine 
avalanche  might  shatter  a  haystack. 

The  genuine  hurricane-blast  is  made  up  of  millions  of 
small  subordinate  whirlwinds,  that  travel  in  the  general 
direction  of  the  gale,  and  claw  up  the  surface  in  long,  end 
less  spirals  of  froth,  which  whiten  the  ocean  into  ghastly 
sheets  of  parallel  foam-streaks.  The  rotary  motion  of 


290  The  Fleetwing. 

this  wind-blown  spume  hurled  it  into  the  air  till  it  struck 
the  ship  with  force,  as  though  shot  from  a  Catling  gun. 

The  gale  which  first  struck  the  ship,  from  the  south,  was 
merely  an  indraught  of  wind,  on  its  way  to  the  storm- 
centre  ;  which  was  then  astern  of  the  ship,  to  the  north 
east,  about  a  hundred  miles  distant.  The  velocity  of  that 
gale  was  a  little  over  sixty  miles  an  hour,  but  would 
increase  as  it  neared  the  centre. 

The  second  gale,  which  struck  the  ship  at  midnight, 
coming  from  the  southeast,  was  blowing  eighty  miles  an 
hour ;  and  showed  by  its  increased  velocity  that  the  storm- 
centre  had  passed  the  ship,  and  was  then  bearing  north 
west,  about  two  hundred  miles  distant. 

The  initial  velocity  of  the  hurricane,  which  came  from 
the  east,  at  daylight,  was  a  trifle  over  one  hundred  miles 
an  hour,  but  it  increased  twenty  miles  during  the  next 
hour  and  a  half.  At  which  time  the  storm-centre  was 
bearing  west-northwest,  nearly  three  hundred  miles  away ; 
although  the  ship  had  run,  during  the  time,  one  hundred 
miles  towards  it  since  midnight. 

By  these  observations,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  central 
circle  of  the  storm  was  nearly  two  hundred  miles  in  diame 
ter  ;  which  is  very  large  for  the  Equator  ;  though  in  middle 
latitude  such  storm-circles  are  often  a  thousand  miles 
across.  The  rotating  centre  moved  over  the  surface  just 
twenty  miles  an  hour;  which  is  faster  than  usual;  from 
which  we  may  infer  that  it  had  blown  several  days  to  ac 
quire  such  velocity. 

When  this  long-remembered  hurricane  struck  the  \Yind- 
ward  Islands,  six  days  after,  it  destroyed  everything  in  its 
path.  It  expended  its  force  near  the  Mona  Passage, 


The  Peril  Passed.  29 1 

where  it  strewed  the  neighboring  shoals  with  many 
wrecks. 

The  Fleetwing  rode  out  the  gale  like  a  duck  in  a  mill- 
pond.  She  had  been  managed  with  skill,  by  being  put  on 
the  right  tack  at  first,  so  as  to  draw  away  from  the  storm- 
centre.  Her  running  before  the  southeast  gale  after  it 
struck  did  no  harm,  as  the  centre  of  the  storm  had  passed, 
and  was  rotating  to  the  west  faster  than  the  ship  could 
sail.  Running  before  the  hurricane,  till  it,  in  turn,  ran 
away  from  the  ship,  was  the  safest  policy,  so  long  as  the 
vessel  would  scud,  and  was  not  approaching  dangerous 
ground. 

It  had  been  a  fair  stand-up  fight  between  the  best 
handiwork  of  man  and  the  two  mad  elements  of  wind  and 
sea,  conspiring  for  the  destruction  of  the  beautiful  craft. 
All  were  thankful  that  they  had  had  no  third  element, 
such  as  land,  to  contend  with,  when  having  such  a  tussle 
of  life  and  death.  Had  the  ship  been  bound  home  and 
imprudently  steered  to  the  northwest  when  the  south  gale 
struck,  she  might  have  been  destroyed  by  plunging  into 
the  storm-centre.  So,  the  officers  had  much  to  be  thank 
ful  for  that  they  had  not  been  tempted  into  any  error  of 
management  during  this  frightful  gale. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

THE   WRECKED    SHIP. 

A  FTER  the  furious  gale  had  passed  away  to  the  west, 
the  barometer  rose  as  rapidly  as  it  had  fallen.  The 
wind  dropped  away  to  a  calm,  and  the  weather  remained 
sultry  for  many  hours.  The  monstrous  seas  subsided, 
leaving  several  heavy,  quick-running  swells  rolling  in  from 
the  south,  the  southeast,  and  the  eastern  board;  all  of 
which  made  the  ship  thrash  about  like  a  dancing  Jack. 

On  the  following  morning  the  sun  rose  bright  through  a 
narrow  rift  in  the  eastern  sky ;  and  with  a  sudden  impulse 
the  swift- flying  scud  swept  clear  the  whole  firmament. 

The  tarpaulins  were  taken  from  the  hatches,  the  boats 
let  down  to  the  lower  cranes,  and  the  life-lines,  which  had 
been  stretched  fore  and  aft,  were  taken  down.  The  crew 
got  up  their  wet  clothing  and  filled  the  rigging  with  steam 
ing  garments.  The  cabin  windows  were  flung  open,  and 
the  cabin  people  gathered  aft  once  more  about  the  taffrail, 
gladdening  in  the  welcome  sunshine. 

A  faint  air  came  in  cat's-paws  from  the  east,  just  rim- 
pling  the  smooth  surface  in  long  dark  streaks,  here  and 
there  ;  creeping  slyly  up  to  the  tops  of  the  great  undula 
tions,  and  then  scampering  down  into  the  deep,  dark 
troughs,  still  shaded  from  the  sun,  and  looking  like  droves 
of  black  mice  seeking  covert  from  the  light  of  day. 

292 


Floating  Wreckage.  293 

These  isolate  airs  increased,  and  soon  joined  hands  over 
the  whole  eastern  board  in  a  veritable  breeze.  It  came 
light  at  first,  baffling  about  from  the  east,  far  round  to  the 
south,  —  over  a  quarter  segment  of  the  circle,  —  settling  at 
length  into  a  steady  southeast  trade  that  was  cool  and 
refreshing. 

Every  drawing  sail  was  at  once  put  upon  the  ship. 
Royal  and  skysail  yards  were  sent  aloft,  and  the  sails  set. 
A  confusion  of  swells  still  rolled  heavily  in  on  the  .port 
bow — a  lingering  reminiscence  of  the  hurricane,  which 
caused  the  ship  to  bury  her  martingale  and  catheads  at 
every  plunge.  This  furious  pitching  prevented  the  yards 
being  braced  up  sharp,  so  that  the  ship  was  not  heading 
better  than  south,  and  did  not  make  better  than  a  south- 
southwest  course,  owing  to  the  smart  westerly  current  she 
had  now  run  into. 

At  noon  a  meridian  altitude  placed  the  ship  in 
2°  30'  north  latitude.  .  The  trades  continued  light  during 
afternoon  and  evening ;  but  during  the  morning  watch  the 
swell  dropped  away  and  the  wind  freshened  up  prettily. 
Pieces  of  wreckage  were  now  frequently  reported  by  the 
lookout  on  the  bow ;  and  once,  in  the  dark  before  dawn, 
the  ship  struck  her  stem  heavily  against  some  floating 
spar  —  such  a  thump  as  led  Braybrook  to  order  the  boxes 
drawn  and  the  pump  sounded. 

Soon  after,  the  lookout  declared  he  saw  a  dead  body 
ahead  of  the  ship,  but  as  the  vessel  ran  over  and  buried 
the  corpse,  the  officer  did  not  see  it,  and  expressed  doubts 
about  it.  When  day  broke,  a  stoven  boat  was  discovered 
on  the  weather  bow,  and  a  broken  topmast  was  passed, 
with  yard  and  a  reefed  sail  attached,  showing  the  wreck 


294  The  Fleetwing. 

was  in  some  way  owing  to  the  recent  gale.  The  boat  was 
bottom  up ;  her  bow  was  stove n  and  both  garboard 
strakes  smashed  in  ;  and  a  sailor's  pea-jacket  hung  from 
one  of  the  splintered  holes :  as  if  that  was  the  first  acci 
dent,  and  the  brave  tar  had  attempted  to  stay  the  leak  ; 
and  this  was  the  sad  result. 

Other  broken  spars,  and  parts  of  a  recent  wreck  contin 
ued  in  view  for  hours ;  trailing  away  to  the  south,  in  the 
direction  the  ship  was  sailing.  Such  sad  havoc  told  of 
fatal  results,  and  kept  the  watch  below  up  and  alert ;  and 
all  hands  were  excited,  wearing  a  look  of  alarm  upon  their 
faces.  Officers  and  men  climbed  upon  the  yards,  eager  to 
behold  the  wrecked  vessel  from  which  so  much  floating 
de'bris  had  been  ravished.  Parts  of  three  masts  had  been 
seen,  so  they  looked  for  nothing  but  a  waterlogged  hulk. 

As  longitude  had  not  been  obtained  on  the  previous 
afternoon,  —  the  sun  being  obscured  at  the  proper  time,  — 
the  exact  position  of  the  ship  had  nc/t  been  known  since 
the  day  before  the  hurricane.  At  nine  o'clock,  much  to 
Captain  Talbert's  surprise,  St.  Paul's  Rock  appeared 
directly  ahead  of  the  ship.  This  determined  their  longi 
tude  to  be  29°  22'  west,  instead  of  forty  miles  to  the  east, 
as  the  dead-reckoning  placed  them.  This  discrepancy 
arose  from  some  unusual  variation  in  the  currents. 

It  was  at  once  concluded  that  the  wreck  would  be  found 
stranded  upon  St.  Paul.  The  Rock  was  then  not  more 
than  twelve  miles  distant.  It  consists  of  a  small  cluster, 
with  two  pointed  peaks  which  are  not  more  than  thirty-five 
feet  above  the  sea  —  a  projection  of  hard  volcanic  tra 
chyte,  making  up  from  the  very  northern  end  of  a  southern 
plateau,  of  which  St.  Helena  and  Ascension  are  more  con- 


The  Wreck.  295 

spicuous  evidence.  St.  Paul  is  as  spindling  as  a  church 
steeple,  far  down  beneath  the  sea ;  for  the  soundings  near 
about  the  Rock  measure  thirteen  thousand  five  hundred 
feet.  There  the  bottom  water  is  found  at  a  temperature 
of  32°  Fahr.  —  the,  coldest  water  in  the  whole  middle 
Atlantic. 

This  most  extreme  frigidity  of  the  bottom  water  found 
in  the  torrid  zone  is  caused  by  curious  phenomena.  It  is 
well  known  that  wherever  a  warm  ocean-current  is  ob 
structed  by  impinging  upon  a  coast-line,  the  effect  is  to 
produce  latent  heat ;  as  at  northern  Norway,  and  in  the 
bight  of  Alaska.  But  it  is  not  so  well  known  that  a  frigid 
Austral  and  an  Arctic  current,  meeting  directly  under  the 
Equator,  tend  to  produce  latent  cold ;  greater  even  than 
is  found  anywhere  else  in  mid-ocean. 

The  strong  upward  rebound  of  these  two  polar  sub-cur 
rents,  when  thus  meeting,  head  to  head,  has  the  effect  to 
create  a  vast  mountain  of  ice-water,  directly  under  the 
Equator;  nearly  twelve  thousand  feet  high  ;  and  that,  too, 
in  a  zone  where  the  surface  water  maintains  the  tempera 
ture  of  80°  Fahr.  throughout  the  year. 

As  the  Fleetwing  approached  St.  Paul  from  the  north, 
the  bow  of  a  large  vessel  was  seen  wedged  in  high  and 
dry,  between  two  vertical  points  of  rock.  This  was  the 
only  part  of  the  wreck  which  could  be  seen  from  the 
north.  The  bowsprit  was  the  only  spar  remaining ; 
the  masts  must  have  gone  by  the  board  when  she  struck. 

In  about  an  hour  the  ship  passed  to  the  south  of  the 
Rock,  running  very  close  in.  Then  it  was  discovered  that 
the  wrecked  vessel  had  broken  in  two,  amidships,  just 
forward  of  the  mainmast.  The  stern-end  of  the  ship  had 


296  The  Fleetwing. 

sunk  and  wholly  disappeared.  The  bow-half  had  run  in 
on  the  top  of  a  vast  breaker,  and  was  firmly  fastened 
between  two  high  pinnacle-rocks,  which  held  her  immov 
able  ;  though  her  after  part  tipped  down  into  the  water  at 
an  angle  of  fifteen  degrees.  This  slanting  position  had 
compelled  the  whole  forward  cargo  to  disgorge  into  the 
sea,  and  float  away ;  leaving  the  between-decks  and  lower 
hold  open  to  the  inrolling  breakers ;  the  return  wave 
washing  out  everything  which  was  movable  vithin. 

The  stoven  long-boat  still  remained  alongside,  held  fast 
by  a  strong  painter,  secured  to  the  main  chains,  the  only 
vestige  of  a  boat  to  be  seen.  Looking  from  the  mizzen 
top,  with  a  glass,  several  dead^  sailors  were  seen  wedged 
under  the  thwarts,  and  some  of  the  seamen's  bags  and 
clothing  were  swashing  about  in  the  boat.  Twenty-two 
other  bruised  and  bloated  bodies  were  cast  upon  the  jut 
ting  rocks,  near  the  bow  of  the  ship,  several  of  which  were 
females.  Two  of  these,  a  mother  and  daughter,  were 
locked  hand  in  hand,  a  piteous  testimony  of  affection  in  a 
death  so  filled  with  horror. 

With  the  exception  of  a  yelping  dog,  —  a  pretty  King 
Charles  spaniel,  —  which  ran  about  from  one  corpse  to 
another,  howling  his  dismal  plaint  of  death,  not  a  vestige 
of  life  could  be  seen.  The  forward  deck-house  remained 
on  the  wreck,  intact,  poised  high  and  dry  above  the  reach 
of  the  highest  breaker;  though  every  comber  ran  head 
long  into  the  'tween-decks  and  the  hold.  Had  the  crew 
remained  by  the  wreck,  instead  of  attempting  to  debark 
by  boats,  they  would  have  fared  better,  and  had  a  longer 
lease  of  life. 

As   it  was  deemed  impossible  to  board  the  wreck,  on 


The  Cannon.  297 

account  of  the  furious  surf,  which  broke  far  out,  and  rose 
into  gigantic  combers,  the  mate  suggested  that  a  cannon 
should  be  fired,  to  arouse  any  one  in  the  deck-house,  if  by 
chance  a  living  person  were  there.  This  was  thought  by 
all  present  to  be  a  useless  precaution,  as  there  was  no 
signal  flying  from  the  splintered  stump  of  the  foremast, 
which  stuck  up  twenty  feet  above  the  house,  and  would  be 
the  first  thing  thought  of  by  a  stranded  sailor.  But  as  the 
captain  made  no  objection,  Braybrook  lent  a  hand  to  get 
out  one  of  the  six-pound  cannon,  while  Raymond  sent 
the  steward  to  get  up  the  powder,  and  himself  filled  the 
cartridges. 

After  a  deal  of  trouble  the  swollen  tompkin  was  got  out 
of  the  muzzle,  the  gun  swabbed  out  and  loaded ;  receiving 
a  double-sized  oakum  wad,  to  make  it  "  speak."  Apply 
ing  a  finer  grade  of  powder  for  priming,  the  gun  was  ready 
for  use.  As  the  ship  had  forged  ahead  some  distance, 
she  was  now  tacked  back  to  the  north,  and  ran  close  in, 
fairly  to  windward  of  the  wreck. 

The  gun  was  elevated,  pointed  at  the  wreck  and  fired ; 
with  the  result  of  waking  the  echoes  among  the  rocks,  and 
making  a  dull  ghostly  boom  emerge  from  the  caverned 
hull.  The  burning  wad  was  seen  to  strike  the  deck ;  and 
being  of  tarry  hemp,  with  a  layer  of  tow  next  the  powder, 
it  soon  fanned  into  a  flame  and  set  fire  to  the  windward 
side  of  the  deck-house,  against  which  it  lay.  This  incident 
was  deemed  of  no  importance,  as  the  big  uproar  of  the 
gun  had  not  startled  even  a  gull  from  the  Boson's  deserted 
tenement. 

Standing  on  past  the  Rock,  to  the  north,  for  a  last  look 
about  in  that  direction,  the  ship  was  again  tacked  back  to 


298  The  Flcctwing. 

the  south;  running  close  in  along  the  edge  of  the 
breakers,  for  a  last  sorrowing  look  at  the  wreck,  and  her 
score  of  dead  seamen.  The  windward  side  of  the  deck 
house  was  blazing  briskly  as  the  Fleetwing  returned,  and 
tongues  of  flame  began  to  burst  from  several  of  the 
windows,  showing  that  the  fire  had  found  combustible 
material  within,  to  make  such  headway  ;  and  would  soon 
consume  all  of  the  wreck  above  water. 

The  cannon  was  put  back  in  its  place,  and  lashed. 
The  fore  and  main  tacks  were  boarded,  and  the  ship  kept 
away  a  point  free,  on  her  course.  With  tears  in  their 
eyes,  the  captain  and  the  ladies  stood  on  the  weather 
quarter,  viewing  the  sad  sight  of  a  broken  vessel  and  the 
unburied  dead. 

Suddenly  the  shriek  of  a  woman  was  heard,  coming 
loud  and  shrill,  as  of  a  person  in  mortal  anguish  or  abject 
fear.  The  voice  outrang  the  roar  of  the  breakers,  and 
pierced  the  ear  with  repeated  cries ;  breasting  against  the 
wind  like  the  sharp  notes  of  a  fife.  All  eyes  were  turned 
upon  the  wreck,  but  not  a  soul  could  be  seen.  Perhaps 
the  men  were  right  in  declaring  that  it  was  but  the  ghost 
of  the  dead,  who  would  continue  to  shriek  till  the  wreck 
was  consumed,  and  the  dead  were  demolished  by  the 
birds.  Tom  had  known  many  such  things,  he  said,  in  his 
time  ;  and  old  Ben  backed  him  up  by  knowing  many  more 
such  cases  than  his  shipmate. 

The  cries  ceased,  and  three  minutes  passed  before  the 
mystery  was  solved.  A  young  girl  was  then  seen  rushing 
out  of  the  port  door  of  the  deck-house,  drawing  after  her 
a  tottering,  white-haired  man,  whom  she  was  trying  to 
pull  out  of  the  flaming  sepulchre.  Both  were  bare-headed 


The  Heroic  Girl.  299 

and  scantily  clad,  as  if  they  had  been  hastily  driven  from 
the  berths  in  their  night-clothes. 

The  heroic  girl  succeeded  in  drawing  the  old  man 
toward  that  part  of  the  bow  which  seemed  least  exposed 
to  the  flame,  which  now  rose  roaring  twenty  feet  above 
them.  Seizing  upon  a  ringstopper,  which  hung  from  the 
port  cathead,  and  trailed  down  the  steep  deck,  the  active 
girl  supported  her  companion  while  she  steadily  worked 
her  way  up  to  the  windlass  ;  where  they  found  partial 
shelter  for  the  moment  behind  the  bitts.  While  they 
tugged  away  at  the  big  rope,  the  long  black  hair  of  the 
one  and  the  thin  silvery  locks  of  the  other  streamed  in 
the  wind  like  a  blended  banner  of  death  and  peace  — 
emblematic  of  what  awaited  them. 

Once  beyond  the  windlass-bitts,  where  they  could  lean 
and  rest,  the  girl  put  the  hair  from  the  old  man's  eyes  and 
together  they  stood,  aghast ;  watching  the  cruel  flame  eat 
its  way  along  the  house-top,  and  seize  upon  the  splintered 
stump  of  the  foremast,  which  lay  in  its  path,  and  then 
begin  to  scorch  the  bowsprit-bitts  ;  while  occasionally  the 
long  tongues  of  flame  reached  far  out  over  their  heads, 
writhing  about  in  the  wind  with  the  contortions  of  a 
serpent  reaching  for  its  prey. 

Thus  far  the  wrecked  ones  had  not  discovered  the 
Fleetwing,  which  just  then  hove  about  in  stays.  BraHing 
up  the  courses,  the  captain  headed  the  ship  back  toward 
the  wreck  ;  but  without  the  least  idea  that  anything  could 
be  done  to  rescue  the  two  unfortunates  from  death. 
What  to  do  to  save  them,  no  one  had  conjectured.  The 
captain  finally  suggested  that  a  raft  should  be  built  and 
floated  in  to  the  wreck. 


3OO  The  Flcctwing. 

"  But,  sir,"  demanded  Raymond,  "  how  are  a  young  girl 
and  an  old  man  to  get  down  upon  your  raft,  should  you 
succeed  in  drifting  it  alongside  of  that  high  wreck  ? " 

"  True  enough,  I  don't  think  they  could." 

A  look  of  horror  was  upon  the  faces  of  all  as  they 
watched  the  increasing  flame,  fanned  by  the  wind,  and 
licking  its  way  steadily  along  into  the  bow,  which  would 
soon  be  ablaze  and  consumed.  One  and  another  burst 
out  in  exclamations  of  pity:  — 

"  It's  a  terrible  thing  to  stand  here  and  see  a  young 
girl  roasted  like  a  pig.  But  a  boat  can't  live  a  minute  in 
such  a  surf  as  that,"  suggested  Braybrook,  showing  a  deal 
of  tender-heartedness,  as  he  contemplated  the  certain 
destruction  by  fire  of  the  wrecked  victims. 

"A  boat  must  and  shall  live  to  reach  that  wreck," 
replied  the  mate,  impulsively.  "  It  will  likely  be  stoven 
when  boarding  the  wreck,  and  can  never  return.  But 
we  can  put  out  the  fire  and  save  those  people  from  being 
burnt  alive,  and  we  shall  be  there  to  help  them  upon  the 
raft  when  you  drift  it  in  to  us." 

Ever  prompt  to  follow  his  own  impulses,  Raymond 
sprang  upon  the  cabin  deck  and  yelled  to  the  men :  — 

"  Aft  here,  every  soul  of  you,  and  clear  away  my  boat !  " 
The  crew  quickly  gathered  amidships,  with  a  puzzled  look 
of  amazement  upon  their  faces;  then  the  mate  again 
addressed  them  :  "  Men,  who  among  you  will  volunteer  to 
go  to  that  wreck  with  me  ? " 

Among   the   twenty   men    clustered    there  beneath  the 

fierce  eye  of  the  mate,  were  several  brave  souls  as  ever 

manned  a  yard  or  tackled  a  fighting  whale.     But  not  a 

-voice  responded  to  the  wild  scheme  of  boating  over  break- 


Call  for  Volunteers.  301 

ers  twenty  feet  high,  surf  which  ran  headlong  upon 
jagged  rocks,  or  against  the  splintered  end  of  a  broken 
wreck.  Huge  Tom  Crawford  folded  his  arms  and  com 
pressed  his  lips  into  a  resolute  —  No  !  But  his  calm  blue 
eye  did  not  waver  before  the  savage  look  of  his  loved 
young  officer ;  a  look  which  smote  upon  old  Ben,  so  that 
he  and  others  slunk  sheepishly  back  into  the  rear  of  their 
more  resolute  shipmate. 

When  Raymond  sprang  upon  the  house  and  gave  his 
order,  Captain  Talbert  hastily  exchanged  convictions  with 
the  second  and  third  mates,  who  agreed  that  a  boat  was 
out  of  the  question  ;  but  a  raft  might  possibly  succeed. 
Then  he  went  to  the  mate,  ready  to  refuse  him  a  boat,  if 
he  got  a  volunteer  crew ;  but  luckily  no  answer  came  to 
Raymond's  crazy  request.  With  a  look  of  scorn,  the 
young  officer  turned  his  back  upon  the  crew,  too  indig 
nant  to  speak  ;  and  appealed  to  the  captain  to  know  what 
could  be  done  :  — 

"  Is  there  nothing  we  can  do  to  save  those  people  ? " 

"  Rig  up  a  light-floating  raft ;  'tis  the  best  we  can  do. 
Try  to  drift  it  up  into  the  'tween-decks  of  the  wreck.  A 
boat  can't  live  a  minute  in  such  surf." 

"  But,  captain,  how  can  those  frightened  creatures  get 
down  to  your  raft  ?  " 

"  There  must  be  a  hatchway  for'ard  of  the  deck-house," 
continued  the  captain. 

"  Very  likely,  but  they  can't  approach  the  house  while 
it  is  burning  that  way.  The  poor  wretches  will  be  roasted 
alive  before  that  fire  is  ended."  And  the  mate  strode 
back  and  forth  on  the  house-top  with  his  lips  quivering 
with  emotion. 


302  The  Fleetwing. 

" They  are  sheltering  themselves  behind  the  \\indlass- 
bitt,  and  the  house  will  be  burnt  up,  out  of  their  way  in  a 
half  hour's  time." 

"  Perhaps  you  are  right,  sir.  We'll  try  the  raft,  and 
may  God  spare  their  lives  till  we  can  reach  them." 

"  No  one  will  be  willing  to  go  in  on  the  raft.  The 
wrecked  folks  must  get  down  upon  it  themselves." 

"  I'll  go  in  on  the  raft !  and  shame  the  cowardly  clowns 
who  refused  to  man  my  boat,  and  save  a  woman  from 
death." 

"  No,  no ;  I'd  rather  you  wouldn't  take  such  risk,  my 
son." 

"  Oh,  sir,  don't  refuse  my  making  an  effort  to  save  those 
poor  creatures.  Why,  captain,  I  should  hate  myself  ever 
after,  if  I  did  not  risk  something  at  such  a  time,"  appealed 
the  mate,  with  persuasive  voice,  and  tears  in  his  eyes. 

"  Boy,  I  love  you  too  well  to  consent  to  your  going  on 
that  raft,  for  you  risk  certain  death.  But,  if  you  will  go, 
I  shall  not  forbid  you ;  for  the  Almighty  has  already 
snatched  you  from  more  dangers  and  deaths  than  I've 
'scaped  from  in  fifty  years  past ;  and  I  will  give  you  into 
•his  keeping,  and  trust  to  your  luck  if  you  will  go." 

"  God  bless  you,  captain  !  I'll  go,  whatever  the  risk  : 
and  I'm  sure  to  save  them,  if  they  don't  burn  up  before  I 
get  there."  Raymond  turned  to  the  men  and  gave  his 
orders,  loud  and  fast :  — 

"  Off  main  hatches,  there  !  and  get  up  four  slim,  three- 
barrel  casks.  Cooper  and  helpers !  get  out  your  ham 
mers  and  drivers,  ready  to  becket  the  casks.  Mr.  Bailey, 
get  up  a  topgallant-sail  from  the  sail-room.  Mr.  Bray- 
brook,  cut  me  sixteen  lengths  of  new,  inch-hemp  rope,  for 


The  Raft.  303 

the  beckets ;  and  have  Morey  put  two  lines  into  your 
boat,  to  slack  the  raft  in  with.  Tom,  get  me  four  stun- 
sail-booms  to  make  a  raft  of,  and  a  set  of  halyards  to  lash 
them  with.  Hoogley,  get  ready  two  short  warps,  the  lan 
tern  keg,  and  two  deck  buckets  ready  to  go  on  the  raft, 
and  two  sealskin  buoys." 

As  all  realized  the  need  of  despatch,  it  is  needless  to 
say  that  every  part  of  this  work  was  executed  with  ut 
most  celerity  and  care.  Off  went  the  hatches,  and  not 
waiting  for  a  tackle  to  hoist  with,  strong  men  leaped  down 
between-decks  and  boosted  up  the  four  casks.  In  three 
minutes  the  cooper's  hammers  were  heard  knocking  off 
the  quarter  hoops,  ready  to  receive  the  beckets.  In  half 
an  hour  the  four  casks  were  lashed  firmly  together,  to 
which  a  frame-work  of  the  four  booms  was  secured.  Over 
this,  a  strong,  new  topgallant-sail  was  fastened  to  the 
booms,  one  half  of  the  sail  being  left  loose,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  covering  over  their  live  freight  when  coming  out 
against  the  surf. 

In  the  meantime  the  ship  had  taken  a  position  fair  to 
windward  of  the  wreck,  as  near  in  to  the  surf  as  it  was 
prudent  to  go,  and  there  let  drop  a  kedge  anchor,  with  a 
two-inch  rope  hawser  attached,  by  which  the  boat  was  to 
anchor  while  slacking  in,  and  hauling  off  the  raft. 

When  all  was  ready,  twenty  men  seized  upon  the  buoy 
ant  raft  and  tossed  it  into  the  sea,  landing  it  fairly  upon 
its  bottom  with  a  splash.  It  was  then  hauled  alongside, 
and  the  mate  sprang  down  upon  it,  receiving  and  securing 
the  several  things  he  wished  to  take,  such  as  buckets, 
buoys,  lantern  keg,  ropes,  hachet,  and  knife. 

As  Raymond  gave  the  word    to   slack  away,  and  the 


304  The  Fleetwing. 

waist-boat's  men  gathered  in  upon  the  two  new  towlines, 
by  which  Braybrook  was  to  hold  the  raft,  John  Kanaka 
leaped  upon  the  taffrail,  and  asked  the  mate  if  he  wanted 
help.  Miss  Allston  and  Mrs.  Talbert  had  shamed  this 
brown  water-fowl  into  proffering  his  services,  and  the 
two  ladies  stood  there  with  streaming  eyes,  waving  their 
kerchiefs  to  the  young  officer  as  he  drifted  away  from  the 
ship. 

"  Yes,  John,  I  would  like  one  of  the  Fleetwing's  boys  to 
show  that  they  are  not  all  cowards.  But  I  can't  stop  for 
you ;  you  must  jump  overboard  and  swim." 

Over  went  the  lithe  Kanaka,  and  climbed  upon  the 
raft,  just  as  the  waist-boat  hauled  it  out  to  her  anchorage. 
To  Braybrook's  question  :  — 

"  Are  you  ready  for  me  to  slack  away,  sir  ? " 

"  First  give  me  two  of  your  paddles  to  quicken  our  drift, 
and  guide  us  on  the  crest  of  the  breakers,"  replied  Ray 
mond.  "  Now  pay  out  your  lines ! "  adding,  as  the  raft 
began  to  forge  ahead  before  the  wind  and  current,  "My 
signal  to  '  snub  your  line  '  will  be  one  paddle-blade  in  the 
air.  Signal  to  '  haul  line,'  shall  be  two  paddles  in  the  air, 
or  a  shirt  waved  from  the  wreck." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir!  God  speed  you,  Mr.  Raymond.",  And 
Braybrook  waved  an  affectionate  farewell  to  his  young 
superior,  whom  he  had  almost  hated  a  month  before. 
Tom,  Ben,  and  others  of  the  boat's  crew  sent  their  bless 
ings  after  him  ;  while  aboard  the  ship,  the  men  ran  up  the 
rigging,  and  cheered  the  brave  act  which  they  dared  not 
emulate.  The  captain  waved  his  spyglass  from  the  mizzen- 
top,  where  he  had  stationed  himself  to  watch  his  loved 
young  mate  till  the  death-struggle  was  over,  as  he  had  no 


Among  the  Breakers.  305 

hope  of  his  reaching  the  wreck  alive.  From  near  the 
round-house  two  little  hands  were  seen  waving  their  white 
kerchiefs  with  a  jerky,  hysterical  motion ;  they,  too, 
were  bidding  a  final  adieu  to  one  most  dear  to  them.  To 
these  last,  Raymond  waved  his  hat,  and  kissed  his  hand, 
just  as  the  fore  end  of  his  raft  began  to  lift  upon  the  first 
quick  upheaval  of  a  monstrous  breaker. 

Standing,  paddle  in  hand,  steadying  himself  by  one  of 
his  life-lines,  Raymond  was  seen  to  cast  his  last  look  at 
the  ship,  and  dwell  a  moment  on  the  low-lying  sun,  as  if 
the  first  serious  thought  of  his  danger  had  dawned  upon 
his  mind.  From  that  moment  his  whole  attention  was 
given  to  managing  his  raft. 

Up  rose  the  massive  comber,  higher  and  higher,  crest 
ing  up  into  a  long  line  of  breaking,  bursting  foam,  hissing 
and  roaring  as  if  the  whole  ocean  had  gone  mad.  The 
surf  seized  upon  the  raft  as  'twere  in  the  maw  of  some 
living  monster,  shaking,  pitching,  tossing  the  buoyant  float 
about,  as  if  it  were  bent  upon  hurling  it  end  over  end, 
down  the  steep  forefront  of  the  breaker,  into  the  smooth, 
shining  trough  made  dismal  by  shadow,  in  the  low-lying 
sun. 

For  a  full  round  minute  the  raft  held  just  the  right  tip 
down  over  the  howling  crest  of  the.  breaker ;  and  Ray 
mond  and  his  companion  stood  on  their  feet,  the  master 
spirits  of  the  scene.  Before  them  rolled  a  half-score  of 
galloping  outriders,  leaping,  loping,  tossing  their  white 
manes  in  the  sun,  till  its  waning  beams  gilded  the  froth 
and  spume  of  the  surf  into  gold. 

Finding  that  the  raft  was  driving  away  to  the  starboard 
hand  of  the  wreck,  Raymond  gave  the  word,  and  the  two 


306  The  Fleetwing. 

paddles  were  set  desperately  to  work,  bringing  their  craft 
into  line  of  the  desired  landing.  This  was  a  delicate  task, 
as  they  must  keep  to  the  top  of  the  surf ;  for  to  drop  back 
and  be  overtaken  by  a  following  breaker,  would  be  certain 
destruction. 

Little  by  little  their  object  was  accomplished,  and  they 
saw  the  foremost  breakers,  one  after  another,  flounder  in 
upon  the  wreck,  or  the  adjacent  rock  ;  shattering  to  pieces 
with  an  angry  howl,  almost  stunning  to  the  ear.  Observ 
ing  at  the  last  moment  that  the  top  of  the  higher  breakers, 
like  that  on  which  they  rode,  would  dash  the  raft  against 
the  upper  deck,  Raymond  up  with  his  one  paddle-blade 
and  signalled,  "  Snub  the  line."  Slowly  the  two  lines 
tautened  till  the  raft  dropped  back  ten  feet  from  the 
higher  crest.  Then  the  paddle-blade  was  withdrawn  ;  and 
the  raft  drove  fair  in  upon  the  'tween-decks,  heaving  up 
fifty  feet  into  the  dark  cavern,  beyond  the  utmost  send  of 
the  sea. 

Leaping  out,  the  two  heroes  secured  their  craft  to  the 
foremast,  which  they  found  by  groping  about  on  the  dark 
deck.  They  then  peered  about  further  forward,  to  find 
the  fore  hatch.  Luckily  for  them  it  was  not  barred.  By 
their  combined  effort,  one  half  of  the  hatch  was  pushed 
from  the  combings,  and  exposed  the  forward  end  of  the 
burning  house,  which  still  blazed  furiously ;  evidently 
feeding  upon  tarred  ropes,  or  a  tar  barrel,  in  the  Boson's 
locker. 

At  first  it  was  too  hot  for  Raymond  to  pass  up  the 
hatchway  without  being  burned.  Happily  the  strong  up- 
draught  from  the  hatchway  had  the  effect  to  swerve  the 
roaring  flame  away  from  the  girl ;  and  by  freshening  the 


The  Burnt  Girl.  307 

blaze  helped  to  expend  the  combustible  material  all  the 
quicker. 

In  fifteen  minutes  the  whole  forward  end  of  the  house 
tumbled  in,  falling  to  the  deck  and  sending  part  of  the 
burning  brands  down  the  hatchway.  Raymond  sent  the 
Kanaka  to  fill  one  of  the  buckets,  from  the  raft,  with 
which  he  put  out  the  charred  remains  as  they  fell ;  and 
then  began  to  throw  water  up  the  hatchway  till  the  fire 
was  dimmed  down  overhead. 

Climbing  up  the  foot-cleats  on  the  stanchion,  Raymond 
sprang  up  the  hatch,  followed  by  John.  Running  to  the 
windlass  end,  he  there  found  the  brave  girl  kneeling  down 
over  the  prostrate  man,  vainly  striving  to  protect  him  from 
the  heat.  One  side  of  her  hair  was  badly  singed ;  her 
right  cheek,  ear,  and  neck  were  blistered.  While  across 
her  back  and  right  shoulder,  parts  most  exposed,  the 
night  dress  and  under-wear  were  so  badly  burned  that 
they  had  fallen  away,  leaving  the  girl's  bare  flesh  burnt  to 
a  crust. 

Horrified  at  what  he  beheld,  Raymond  snatched  off  his 
thin  coat  and  laid  it  tenderly  over  the  head  and  shoulders 
of  the  girl.  This  was  the  first  intimation  she  had  of  his 
presence.  With  a  languid  effort,  she  raised  her  head  and 
met  the  gaze  of  her  rescuer.  Uttering  a  cry  of  surprise, 
and  delight  at  seeing  a  human  being  standing  beside  her, 
she  continued  with  a  piteous  appeal  for  her  parent  :  — 

"  Oh,  sir !  save  my  father,  my  beloved  father !  and  I 
will  bless  you  all  the  days  of  my  life." 

"  Yes,  poor  girl,  I  am  going  to  save  you  both." 

"  How  can  you  ?  What  power  have  you  to  save  us  ? 
Father,  father !  do  you  hear  what  this  brave  man  says  ? 


308  The  Flcetiving. 

He  will  save  you.  You  shall  not  be  burnt  alive."  She 
helped  the  weak  old  man  to  raise  his  head ;  and  he  looked 
up  at  Raymond  with  a  vacant  stare  ;  shaking  his  head 
with  a  disconsolate  negative,  saying :  — 

"  No,  no,  Nellie ;  he  cannot  save  us.  Burning  or 
starvation  is  our  lot.  'Tis  the  will  of  the  Heavenly 
Father,  as  I  have  told  you,  and  we  must  not  murmur.  He 
is  a  good  young  man,  to  wish  to  do  us  a  service,  but  he 
ought  not  to  promise  what  he  cannot  fulfil."  The  dazed 
old  gentleman  dropped  his  head  back  upon  his  hands,  ex 
hausted  by  the  effort  he  had  mad  2  to  talk. 

"  Father  is  right ;  he  understands  all  about  the  sea. 
He  has  said  no  boat  could  ever  pass  the  surf  to  reach  us." 
Her  lips  quivered,  and  tears  came  into  her  soft  dark  eyes 
at  the  thought  of  her  father's  dying  such  a  death." 

"  Don't  despair ;  we've  got  a  raft  below  in  the  ship 
here ;  and  we  must  get  you  and  your  father  below 
quickly,  or  night  will  overtake  us."  And  Raymond 
glanced  at  the  sun,  which  was  just  then  pierced  by  a  west 
ern  pinnacle  of  the  Rock ;  the  two  halves  of  the  setting 
orb  glared  red  and  opaque  upon  the  little  group,  every 
particle  of  hope  and  warmth  gone  out  of  its  beams. 

"  Tell  me  what  to  do,  noble  man,  and  I  will  do  your 
bidding.  Only  promise  to  save  my  precious  parent,  for 
my  life  is  as  nothing  to  his." 

"  Yes,  yes,  you  brave  girl,  I  promise  to  save  you  both. 
But  you  must  be  up  and  doing.  First,  we  must  get  your 
father  down  between-decks." 

The  girl  sprang  up,  almost  as  if  she  was  not  maimed  by 
the  cruel  flames.  The  coat  fell  from  her  bare,  burnt  shoul 
der.  Raymond  picked  it  up,  and  helped  her  put  it  on, 


The  Boson's  Chair.  309 

tenderly  as  a  loving  mother  could  do,  for  she  shrank  with  a 
nervous  shudder  at  having  her  crisped  back  touched  by 
the  garment,  though  not  a  murmur  escaped  her  lips. 

By  the  use  of  a  short  warp,  Raymond  made  a  Boson's 
chair  and  placed  it  under  the  old  man,  tying  him  to  it ; 
and  then  lowered  him  down  the  hatchway.  John  stood 
ready  to  take  him,  with  orders  to  place  the  frail  old  gent 
on  the  upper  side  of  a  large  wooden  knee,  till  the  raft 
was  ready  to  launch. 

Then  the  girl  was  got  into  the  chair,  and  made  ready  to 
lower  down  in  the  same  way.  But  when  Raymond  dis 
covered  that  the  feet  and  limbs  of  the  delicate  creature 
were  bare,  having  on  nothing  but  her  night-dress,  he 
called  up  the  Kanaka  to  lower  her  down,  and  himself 
went  below  to  receive  her.  Taking  her  tenderly  in  his 
arms, — to  avoid  touching  her  burnt  side, — he  took  her 
directly  to  the  raft.  Holding  her  until  John  came  to 
lift  back  the  loose  part  of  the  sail,  Raymond  placed  her 
in  the  middle  of  the  raft,  where  the  stretched  canvas  did 
not  touch  the  casks  beneath,  making  her  as  comfortable  as 
he  could. 

He  then  went  and  got  her  father,  groping  about  in 
the  dark  as  best  he  could,  for  the  light  from  the  fore- 
hatchway  seemed  suddenly  to  have  departed.  Having 
placed  the  old  man  beside  his  daughter,  on  the  side  oppo 
site  her  burns,  he  lashed  them  both  securely ;  then  the 
sail  was  placed  smoothly  over  them,  leaving  their  faces 
bare  for  the  time,  but  with  a  fold  of  canvas  ready  to  draw 
wholly  over  them  when  entering  the  surf. 

The  steep  slant  of  the  'tween-decks  prevented  Raymond 
from  seeing  the  ship  or  the  outer  world.  The  mouth  of 


The  Fleetwing. 

their  dark  cavern  pointed  down  into  the  water,  at  an 
angle  of  fifteen  degrees,  and  was  wholly  submerged  by 
every  inrolling  breaker ;  so  that  it  was  necessary  to  go 
on  deck  to  signal  the  ship  to  haul  them  off.  Some  min 
utes  before  all  was  made  ready  for  a  launch,  they  noticed 
that  the  tumult  without  was  increasing.  Though  the  noise  - 
of  the  surf  was  almost  deafening  at  the  best,  yet  there 
was  evidence  that  bad  was  being  made  worse.  The 
breakers  drove  in  higher  than  before,  lifting  the  raft  till  it 
thumped  hard  on  the  deck,  while  it  almost  crushed  their 
living  freight  against  the  beams  overhead,  till  they  were 
compelled  to  haul  the  raft  up  nearer  to  the  foremast.  Be 
sides,  the  darkness  had  suddenly  become  impenetrable, 
though  Raymond  could  not  believe  that  the  sun  had 
set. 

When  Raymond  climbed  up  the  hatchway  to  show  his 
two  paddle-blades  as  a  signal  for  Braybrook  to  haul  out 
the  raft,  he  was  dismayed  to  find  the  Fleetwing  hidden 
from  view  by  a  fierce  black  squall  of  wind  and  rain.  The 
surf  was  so  increased  by  the  wind  and  sea  that  it  was  now 
made  too  dangerous  to  encounter  even  if  the  squall 
should  pass  quickly  away,  which  there  was  no  prospect 
of  its  doing.  This  was  a  sad  mishap,  as  it  was  nearly 
sunset  and  a  night  spent  in  the  damp  hold  would  greatly 
add  to  the  suffering  of  his  weak  charge,  both  of  whom 
were  starving,  and  one  sick  and  feverish  from  her 
burns. 

With  a  sad  heart,  Raymond  sheltered  himself  from  the 
rain  behind  the  charred  stump  of  the  foremast,  and  waited 
for  the  squall  to  pass  away.  But  the  rain  continued, 
night  set  in  dark  and  gloomy,  and  all  hope  for  the  time 


The  Starving  Ones.  311 

was  gone.  Going  below,  the  mate  announced  the  state  of 
things  to  his  companions,  assuming  as  cheerful  tones  as 
he  could,  while  he  set  about  preparing  to  pass  a  long, 
dismal  night  in  the  noisy  cavern. 

Groping  about  on  the  raft,  he  found  the  lantern-keg, 
knocked  off  the  hoops  with  his  hatchet,  and  took  out  the 
head.  Carefully  taking  out  some  ship-bread,  and  a  tin 
can  of  soup,  he  came  to  the  boat-lantern,  in  which  he 
found  a  candle  and  matches.  Lighting  a  match,  he  lit  his 
candle  and  hung  up  the  lantern  to  the  carline  overhead. 
The  small  glimmer  was  just  sufficient  to  eat  by,  but 
rather  had  the  effect  to  increase  the  sense  of  gloom  in 
their  surroundings. 

Sending  John  to  fill  one  of  the  buckets  with  rain  water 
which  still  poured  in  a  deluge  down  the  hatchway,  Ray 
mond  laid  out  enough  ship-bread  for  passengers  and  crew, 
and  then  headed  up  the  rest  to  keep  it  from  the  rats, 
which  swarmed  about  them. 

When  John  returned  with  the  water,  the  mate  opened 
the  can  of  prepared  soup,  and  induced  the  old  gentleman 
to  sip  sparingly  of  the  palatable  liquid,  and  to  nibble  all 
he  could  from  a  biscuit  soaked  in  water.  This  had  the 
effect  to  visibly  improve  the  parent,  and  Raymond  then 
turned  his  attention  wholly  to  the  daughter. 

The  poor  girl  had  become  faint  and  sick,  in  high  fever, 
from  the  dreadful  condition  of  her  burns  and  her  starved 
state.  Not  having  any  utensil  in  which  to  thin  down  the 
soup,  Raymond  induced  her  to  take  first  a  swallow  of  water, 
followed  by  one  of  soup,  though  but  a  little  of  the  latter 
could  be  allowed  her  while  the  fever  was  present.  It  was 
the  first  morsel  of  food  that  the  two  unfortunates  had 


3 1 2  The  Fleetwing. 

tasted  for  the  past  two  days,  and  it  greatly  refreshed  and 
strengthened  them.  John  and  the  mate  made  their 
supper  of  bread  and  water,  keeping  the  remainder  of. 
the  soup  for  the  wrecked  ones.  The  soup-can  was 
slung  by  ropeyarns  and  suspended  to  an  overhead  beam, 
to  keep  it  from  the  rats,  now  made  furious  by  the  smell 
of  food. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

A    NIGHT   ON   THE    WRECK. 

TT  became  a  matter  of  anxiety  to  Raymond  how  the  long 
night  was  to  be  passed  on  the  wreck.  The  constant 
inrush  of  the  surf,  aside  from  its  hideous  noise,  kept  up  a 
cold,  damp  draught,  which  chilled  even  a  healthy  person 
to  the  bone.  How  the  sick  ones  were  to  endure  it  re 
mained  to  be  seen. 

The  father,  happily,  was  clothed  in  a  warm  flannel 
night-gown,  stockings,  and  drawers.  But  the  delicately 
nurtured  girl,  having  had  more  forethought  for  her  aged 
father  than  for  herself,  on^  the  night  of  the  wreck,  had 
rushed  to  her  parent's  state-room  in  a  thin  night-dress  and 
light  upper-wear,  having  on  nothing  to  protect  her  lower 
extremities. 

The  mate's  heart  ached  to  think  of  her  exposed  condi 
tion,  and  he  set  about  devising  the  best  division  he  could 
make  of  his  own  clothing.  Going  quietly  away  in  the 
dark,  he  divested  himself  of  his  own  under-wear. 
Taking  his  drawers,  stockings,  and  under-shirt  to  the  girl, 
Raymond  bade  her  put  them  on,  while  John  and  he  went 
on  deck  for  half  an  hour,  to  observe  the  weather. 

The  two  men  climbed  up  the  hatchway,  pleased  to  find 
the  squall  had  passed  away,  leaving  a  light  wind  with 
bright  starlight  overhead ;  but  the  surf  was  s:ill  much 


314  The  Fleetwing. 

heavier  than  when  the  raft  came  in.  The  ship's  light 
could  be  distinguished  in  the  offing,  which  served  to  cheer 
the  lonely  situation  on  the  wreck.  While  they  stood 
whiling  away  the  time,  watching  the  larger  star-beams 
glitter  like  mimic  suns  in  the  foaming  crests  of  the  break 
ers,  a  sudden  light  flashed  across  the  long  line  of  surf  and 
lit  up  the  slanting  deck  on  which  they  stood. 

Their  shipmates  were  making  a  big  flare  of  scraps ;  a 
signal  showing  their  anxiety  about  the  absent  ones  on  the 
wreck.  The  mate  understood  what  was  wanted,  but  just 
how  to  answer  his  friends  was  difficult  to  conceive.  Rak 
ing  about  among  the  charred  remains  of  the  deck-house, 
he  found  some  smouldering  embers  which  had  escaped  the 
deluge  of  rain.  Bidding  John  gather  some  unburnt  pieces 
of  the  house,  they  succeeded  in  making  quite  a  blaze. 
Enough  to  satisfy  their  friends,  for  they  soon  began  to 
swing  their  great  iron-hoop  cradle  back  and  forth  with  the 
chain  by  which  it  hung  from  the  mainyard,  until  the  oily 
scraps  doubled  their  volume  of  light.  This  was  followed 
by  a  ringing  cheer,  which  came  echoing  along  over  the 
breakers,  gladdening  the  hearts  for  whom  it  was  uttered. 

Putting  out  the  deck-fire,,  the  two  went  below  for  the 
night.  Raymond's  thoughts  were  alert;  he  was  distressed 
to  know  how  to  contribute  to  the  comfort  of  his  charge, 
especially  the  poor  maimed  girl.  The  young  thing  was 
flushed  with  fever,  and  crying  with  pain,  when  Raymond 
returned.  She  had  succeeded  in  robing  herself  in  all  but 
the  stockings,  after  a  painful  effort  that  made  her  sick  and 
faint  beyond  endurance.  She  had  broken  the  crusts  in 
several  places  from  her  burnt  back  and  shoulder.  She 
sat  holding  the  stockings  in  her  hands,  having  failed,  after 


The  Sick  Girl.  315 

repeated  efforts,  to  put  them  on.  As  Raymond  took  his 
seat  by  her  side,  and  tested  her  feverish  pulse,  the  girl's 
lips  quivered  with  emotion,  and  a  fresh  burst  of  tears 
came  from  her  eyes. 

"Oh,  sir,  I  have  tried  so  hard  to  do  your  bidding,  but 
truly  I  cannot  reach  my  feet,"  and  she  buried  her  face  in 
her  hands. 

"  You  poor  sick  girl,  I  ought  not  to  have  left  you  to  do 
it  alone.  I  thought  perhaps  you  would  rather  do  it,  if  you 
could." 

Raymond  put  the  stockings  on ;  and  then  prepared  a 
brace  for  his  back  with  the  paddles  at  the  lower  end  of 
the  raft,  so  that  he  could  sit  up  and  hold  the  girl,  as  it 
impeded  her  heart  action  to  lie  down,  and  made  her  dizzy 
and  nauseated.  The  old  gentleman  was  greatly  affected 
at  the  tenderness  and  thoughtfulness  of  his  preserver,  and 
he  crept  forward  and  grasped  the  mate's  hands,  and 
blessed  him ;  declaring  that  if  they  were  preserved,  Ray 
mond  should  never  need  follow  the  sea  again. 

The  exertion  which  the  old  man  had  made,  together 
with  his  nervous  emotion,  gave  him  a  chill.  Raymond 
bade  John  snuggle  up  to  the  old  gent,  and  spend  the  whole 
time  rubbing  his  back,  chafing  his  hands,  and  imparting 
to  him  the  grateful  lomi-lomi  of  the  Polynesians,  at  which 
John  was  an  adept. 

Having  fixed  the  brace  for  his  back,  and  raised  the  sail 
so  as  to  shelter  them  all  from  the  cold  indraught,  Ray 
mond  took  the  girl  in  his  arms,  and  sought  the  easiest  sit 
ting  position  he  could  find  for  the  night.  He  held  her  so 
that  her  burnt  side,  shoulder,  and  face  would  not  be 
touched  by  anything.  Responding  to  her  fevered  call  for 


3 1 6  The  Fleetwing. 

water,  he  bathed  her  hot  forehead  frequently;  and  the 
girl  and  her  father  became  quite  easy  after  an  hour's 
rest. 

As  there  was  no  disposition  in  any  of  them  to  sleep, 
Raymond  asked  how  the  ship  came  to  be  wrecked,  what 
her  name  was,  where  she  was  from,  and  who  they  were,  — 
taking  this  means  to  divert  their  attention  from  the  dis 
mal  situation. 

The  father  began  the  story  of  their  disaster,  but  soon 
bade  the  daughter  finish,  as  talking  tired  him  greatly. 

"  The  ship  was  the  Washington  Allston,  Captain  Wai- 
bridge,  of  Boston.  She  is  owned  by  my  brother,  Robert 
Lawrence,  and  myself.  I  went  out  to  Calcutta  in  her  for 
my  health,  and  my  daughter  Nellie  insisted  on  keeping 
me  company,  and  sorry  work  we  have  made  of  it.  We 
were  overtaken  by  the  hurricane  in  the  afternoon ;  short 
ened  sail  for  scudding,  and  ran  the  ship  dead  before  it, 
thinking  we  were  well  to  the  east  of  St.  Paul.  We  knew 
nothing  of  our  danger  till  we  struck,  and  the  masts  went 
by  the  board.  The  ship  broke  in  two  soon  after,  and 
every  soul  but  ourselves  is  dead.  Here  we  are ;  and 
what  possessed  you  to  come  through  this  surf,  Heaven 
only  knows.  I  understand  the  sea,  my  young  friend,  and 
know  it  is  impossible  to  go  through  these  breakers  alive ; 
but  I  honor  you  for  your  courage  and  humanity,  and  we 
will  both  bless  you  with  our  latest  breath."  He  sank 
back  exhausted,  and  motioned  to  Nellie  to  tell  the  rest  of 
the  story.  But  Raymond  interrupted  her  by  saying:  — 

"  I  came  in  here,  Mr.  Lawrence,  because  I  knew  I 
could  save  you.  Keep  up  your  spirits  a  little  longer,  and 
to-morrow  we'll  give  it  a  good  try." 


Story  of  t /i e  Wreck.  317 

A  sickly  smile  passed  over  the  old  man's  face,  as  he  re 
plied:  — 

"  You  are  too  enthusiastic,  sir.  We  might  as  well 
starve  to  death  as  go  into  the  surf  and  drown.  I  saw 
from  the  first  that  you  were  of  those  devil-me-care  fellows 
who  don't  know  danger  when  they  see  it.  It's  a  good 
quality  for  sea-life,  and  you  are  just  the  man  I  would 
choose  for  captain  of  my  best  ship.  Pray,  what  ship  are 
you  from,  and  what  is  your  name,  my  young  friend  ?  "  and 
he  ceased  talking,  from  sheer  prostration. 

"  My  name  is  Raymond,  mate  of  the  Fleetwing,  of  New 
Bedford."  Turning  to  Nellie,  who  lay  restfully  reclining 
on  his  arm,  he  continued  his  questions  :  "  How  came  you 
two  all  alone  on  the  wreck,  Miss  Lawrence  ? " 

"  I'll  tell  you,  noble  sir";  and  the  girl  fixed  her  large 
black  eyes  on  Raymond's  face,  as  she  brushed  away  the 
tears.  "  I  had  best  go  back  to  where  father  left  off. 
After  the  ship  struck,  and  the  awful  crash  had  ceased  in  a 
measure,  I  sprang  from  my  berth  and  ran  into  father's 
state-room.  He  was  up  and  just  coming  to  find  me,  that 
we  might  die  together,  as  he  said ;  for  he  knew  that  we 
had  run  on  to  the  pitiless  rocks  of  St.  Paul.  In  a  mo 
ment,  Captain  Walbridge  came,  and  said  :  — 

"  '  The  ship's  back  is  broken  !  Run  for'ard  to  the  deck 
house,  quick,  or  you  are  lost !  The  whole  stern  is  break 
ing  off,  and  slowly  sinking  under  water.  Run',  both  of 
you !' 

"  The  captain  threw  father's  overcoat  over  me,  and  hur 
ried  us  on  deck.  The  steward  helped  father  along,  and 
the  captain  took  me  forward  into  the  house.  The  broken 
deck  was  just  held  on  one  side  by  the  planksheer  as  we 


3 1 8  The  Fleetiving. 

passed,  and  it  broke  away  and  buried  in  the  surf  an 
instant  after.  The  Boson  and  Chips  cleared  out  their 
berths  for  us,  and  Captain  Walbridge  insisted  upon  our 
both  getting  in  for  better  protection.  Most  of  the  deck- 
watch  were  swept  overboard  when  the  ship  struck,  for  not 
one  was  found  on  deck  when  the  captain  came  out. 

"  When  the  gale  passed  away,  there  were  but  ten  men 
left  out  of  twenty-four.  The  captain,  second  mate,  and 
Boson  thought  the  long-boat  might  be  launched,  and  per 
haps  we  could  escape  in  it.  The  boat  was  unlashed  and 
slipped  safely  into  the  water,  and  all  got  into  her  but  the 
captain,  who  remained  behind  to  help  father  and  me  in. 
Just  as  father  was  being  lowered  over  the  side,  a  great 
surf  overwhelmed  the  boat  and  stove  her;  and  we  saw  the 
crew  drowned  before  our  eyes.  We  were  helped  back  to 
the  house,  and  in  an  hour  after  Captain  Walbridge  went 
mad.  Sometimes  in  his  worst  frenzy  he  took  father  for 
the  mate,  and  threatened  to  kill  him.  The  captain  attrib 
uted  our  disaster  to  the  wrong  longitude  given  by  the  mate 
on  the  day  before  the  gale,  being  himself  sick  at  the  time. 

"  Having  nothing  to  eat,  and  no  water,  we  suffered  from 
hunger  and  thirst.  The  captain  drank  freely  of  sea-water, 
and  became  more  crazy,  until  we  expected  to  be  killed  by 
him  ;  as  he  still  insisted  that  father  was  the  mate,  and 
that  I  was  urging  him  on  to  wreck  the  ship.  For  an  hour 
he  ran  shrieking  about  the  deck,  looking  in  at  the  win 
dows,  or  spying  in  at  the  door ;  declaring  that  he  should 
soon  have  a  warrant  to  kill  us  both.  At  length,  after  a 
more  dreadful  outcry  than  usual,  he  ran  and  jumped  over 
board  ;  floundered  in  the  surf  a  moment,  and  sank.  And 
we  two  were  left  here  to  die  together  in  peace. 


The  Girl's  Sad  Tale.  319 

''  This  afternoon  I  was  aroused  from  sleep  by  the 
crackle  of  flames,  and  the  heat  of  fire  which  had  blistered 
my  cheek  while  I  slept.  I  sprang  up  and  found  the 
whole  end  of  the  house  in  a  blaze.  Arousing  father, 
we  ran  out  and  climbed  up  the  steep  deck  to  the  windlass. 
There  we  knelt  down  and  prayed  God  to  spare  us  pro 
longed  torture.  We  strove  to  wait  patiently  while  being 
burned  to  death.  The  pain  was  at  first  hard  to  bear,  but 
it  became  more  endurable  as  it  became  more  severe.  I 
was  prepared  to  die,  only  asking  that  father  and  I  might 
die  together.  When  you  came,  I  thought  I  was  almost 
dead.  I  had  swooned  several  times,  and  believed  it 
would  soon  be  over.  This  is  all,  and  I  fear  it  is  the  end. 
I  was  not  pleased  at  first  with  your  coming.  How  could 
the  Heavenly  Father  let  you  come  here  to  die  with  us  ?  — 
so  brave  and  good  as  you  have  shown  yourself  —  as  if  two 
were  not  enough  to  die  such  a  death  as  this  !  " 

The  girl  had  tired  herself  by  the  intensity  with  which 
she  told  her  story.  Her  head  sank  upon  her  chest,  and 
she  burst  into  sobs  and  tears,  leaning  heavily  upon  Ray 
mond  as  if  she  would  faint.  He  reached  out  for  the 
water  and  induced  her  to  drink,  and,  pouring  some  into 
his  hand,  he  bathed  her  forehead.  He  spoke  soothing 
words  to  her,  and  made  restful  passes  about  her  head,  and 
endeavored  to  instil  his  own  belief  of  their  being  saved 
in  the  morning. 

Mr.  Lawrence  had  dropped  to  sleep  restful  as  an 
infant,  snuggled  up  to  John  Kanaka ;  the  faithful  fellow 
had  done  his  work  well.  Raymond  drew  Miss  Lawrence's 
attention  to  the  look  of  repose  on  her  father's  face,  and 
bade  her  copy  her  parent's  example,  as  she  would  need  all 


320  The  Fleetwing. 

her  strength  and  resolution  to  undergo  the  rescue   on  the 

3_r* 
coming  day.     The  weak,  confiding  girl  dried  her  tenr^, 

and  struggled  hard  to  suppress  her  sighs ;  trying  her  best 
to  do  as  she  was  bidden.  Nestling  herself  into  an  easier 
position,  in  half  an  hour  she  too  was  in  a  sweet,  painless 
sleep,  which  continued  till  three  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

Raymond  sat  there  tending  his  sacred  charge  through 
all  that  dismal  night.  John  had  dropped  to  sleep  before 
midnight ;  but  as  he  still  clung  fast  to  his  charge  in  a  way 
to  insure  warmth,  he  was  left  to  his  slumber.  It  was  a 
wonder  how  any  one  could  sleep  midst  the  ceaseless  roar 
of  the  breakers,  together  with  their  swash  and  floundering 
about  the  raft.  The  crashing  swells  rolling  up  into  the 
lower  hold  forced  the  imprisoned  air  into  the  bow,  till  it 
gushed  up  between  the  frame-timbers,  and  through  all  the 
small  crannies  opened  in  the  deck-seams ;  whistling  in 
shrill  fife-notes,  and  shrieking  hideously,  in  the  voice  of  a 
thousand  demons. 

Add  to  this  unearthly  tumult  of  the  sea,  the  din  of  a 
hundred  hungry  rats  squealing  about  the  raft,  attracted  by 
the  smell  of  food.  A  dozen  at  a  time  would  spring  upon 
the  raft,  so  famished  that  they  would  fight  and  tear  each 
other.  It  required  Raymond's  constant  watchfulness  to 
prevent  their  springing  upon  his  sleeping  companions ; 
especially  were  the  starving  rodents  intent  upon  inspect 
ing  Nellie's  dainty  feet ;  and  the  smell  of  her  roasted 
shoulder  made  them  frantic  for  a  meal  upon  such  a 
dainty. 

At  length,  a  large  rat  suddenly  seized  upon  a  toe  of  the 
sleeping  Kanaka,  eliciting  a  yell  that  should  have  sent 
them  to  their  holes ;  instead,  the  smell  of  blood  induced  a 


A  Dreadful  Night.  321 

dozen  others  to  spring  upon  John's  foot,  and  leg,  requir 
ing  blows  and  kicks,  together  with  some  ingenious  Kanaka 
expletives,  to  drive  them  off.  The  brutes  were  crazed 
with  hunger,  and  a  weak  person  would  have  been  de 
voured  in  spite  of  feeble  resistance.  There  was  no  more 
sleep  for  John.  The  superstitious  fellow  was  in  a  panic, 
with  rat-fright.  The  glaring  eyes  of  the  little  beasts 
struck  horror  to  the  soul  of  this  Polynesian  nobleman. 
Though  John  was  a  tabued  chief  in  his  own  land,  here 
was  a  set  of  cannibal's  having  no  respect  for  the  dread 
tabu  of  Polynesia. 

Raymond  lay  watching  the  candle  burn  low  in  its 
socket,  wondering  how  he  should  protect  his  charge 
against  the  rats  in  the  dark.  Just  before  the  candle 
expired,  Miss  Lawrence  waked,  refreshed  and  strengthened 
by  her  sleep ;  but  terribly  sore  and  numb  over  all  her 
burnt  side.  Raymond  induced  her  to  seek  some  new 
position.  He  prompted  her  to  lay  her  burned  side  fair 
against  him,  for  it  had  become  cold  and  stiffened  by 
the  dampness.  Though  the  least  movement  pained  her 
greatly,  the  grateful  girl  nestled  up  to  her  protector  again, 
as  he  directed  ;  and  once  more  slept  at  short  intervals  in 
the  darkness,  till  a  vestige  of  light  gleamed  up  through 
the  water  into  the  hold,  and  announced  the  new  day. 
Then  Raymond  laid  his  charge  gently  down  by  her  sleep 
ing  father,  bade  John  keep  off  the  rats,  and  himself  climbed 
up  the  hatchway,  to  prospect  for  the  coming  rescue. 

When  day  dawned,  the  Fleetwing  was  seen  a  mile  away 
to  windward.  She  was  just  keeping  off  before  the  wind 
when  Raymond  discovered  her,  and  would  soon  be  in 
position  to  renew  their  work.  The  waist-boat  had  been 


322  TJic  Fleetwing, 

left  anchored  through  the  night;  and  now  lay  about  a 
ship's  length  outside  of  the  breakers.  Raymond  watched 
the  ship  run  down  and  round  to  near  the  waist-boat, 
lower  the  bow-boat,  and  put  ten  strong  men  into  the  an 
chored  boat,  ready  to  haul  out  the  raft  at  a  signal  given 
from  the  wreck. 

Springing  below,  the  mate  got  his  passengers  into 
position  to  embark  ;  feet  to  the  breakers,  with  the  sail 
drawn  over  their  heads,  as  on  the  previous  day  ;  so  that 
the  breaking  comb  of  the  surf  would  roll  over  the  sail 
without  sweeping  away  those  beneath.  When  father  and 
daughter  were  securely  lashed  to  the  raft,  a  life-line  was 
rigged  for  John  and  himself  to  cling  to,  as  they  designed 
to  remain  outside  of  the  sail  and  breast  the  rollers  as  best 
they  could.  The  excitement  of  preparation  made  the 
sick  girl  faint  and  hysterical ;  and  as  the  old  gentleman 
was  also  in  low  spirits,  thinking  their  last  hour  had  come, 
Raymond  thought  best  to  delay  their  departure,  and  fortify 
both  passengers  and  crew  with  breakfast. 

While  John  opened  the  lantern-keg  and  got  out  some 
ship-bread,  the  mate  took  down  the  soup-can  and  doled 
out  the  rich  nourishment  to  the  privileged  ones  of  his 
little  craft ;  himself  and  the  one-man  crew  partaking  has 
tily  of  hardtack  and  water  ;  not  being  above  drinking  from 
the  pail  where  fifty  thirsty  rats  had  been  before  them.  But 
as  the  dainty  passengers  had  not  lain  awake  to  observe 
this,  the  water  was  as  palatable  as  ever  to  them.  The 
breakfast,  together  with  the  brief  delay,  and  Raymond's 
cheerful  re-assurance,  had  the  desired  effect.  Miss  Law 
rence  promised  to  trust  implicitly  to  the  brave  words  of 
their  protector;  while  the  less  trusting  father  continued 


Afloat  on  t/ic  Raft.  323 

to  murmur  parting  messages  to  his  daughter,  and  call 
upon  God  to  remember  the  noble  humanity  of  this  young 
man,  who  had  bravely  come  to  die  with  them,  in  his 
vain  attempt  to  rescue. 

When  all  was  ready,  Raymond  sent  the  Kanaka  on 
deck  to  display  the  two  paddles,  and  wait  a  response 
from  ship  or  boat ;  with  orders  to  then  hasten  down  and 
take  his  place  on  the  raft.  John  was  gone  about  a  minute 
and  a  half,  when  the  ropes  began  to  steadily  tauten.  As 
he  saw  the  required  signals  from  both  ship  and  boat,  he 
sprang  down  the  hatchway  with  undue  haste,  in  fear  of 
being  left  behind. 

Standing  on  the  raft,  hatchet  in  hand,  ready  to  cut  the 
fasts  which  held  their  little  craft  to  the  foremast,  Raymond 
watched  patiently  until  three  large,  continuous  breakers  had 
rolled  in  upon  them,  and  spent  their  force  ;  and  then  cut 
the  fasts.  The  two  towlines  had  previously  been  brought 
to  a  severe  strain,  and  when  the  stern  fasts  parted,  at  a 
stroke  from  the  hatchet,  the  raft  grated  an  instant  on  the 
deck,  and  started  on  its  way.  Following  quickly  down 
on  the  last  retreating  sea,  which  compelled  them  to  duck 
low  to  clear  the  upper  deck,  the  raft  shot  well  out  clear  of 
the  wreck  before  the  next  surf  rolled  in  upon  them. 

She  rode  over  the  next  inrolling  comber  like  a  duck  ! 
It  was  then  deemed  the  test  wave  of  their  perilous  enter 
prise,  and  they  had  survived  it.  This  was  rightly  con 
strued  from  the  boat  as  well  as  the  ship,  where  the  whole 
rigging  was  lined  with  their  shipmates ;  from  whom  a  yell 
of  the  wildest  delight  broke  forth,  and  ran  echoing  down 
over  the  long  reach  of  water,  merry  as  marriage-bells.  It 
was  the  welcome  outpouring  of  thirty  hearts  for  a  brave 


324  The  Fleetwing. 

man's  act,  carrying  a  note  of  inspiration  alike  to  the 
rescued  and  the  rescuers. 

Seeing  that  the  next  several  breakers  were  undersized, 
Raymond  stooped  and  lifted  the  sail  from  the  faces  of  his 
passengers,  and  let  the  morning  sun  beam  in  upon  the 
frightened  ones.  The  old  man's  eyes  met  the  mate's,  as 
he  muttered  :  — 

"There's  a  grain  of  hope  in  that  cheer  of  your  ship 
mates." 

"  Yes,  Mr.  Lawrence  ;  the  danger  will  soon  be  past." 

"  Pray  God  to  keep  us  yet  in  his  charge,  young  man  ; 
for  you  certainly  have  the  ear  of  the  Lord  !  "  and  glad 
tears  streamed  down  his  venerable  face. 

Raymond  kneeled  to  slacken  the  rope  across  Nellie's 
chest,  and  said  a  word  of  cheer  to  the  patient  girl.  She 
seized  his  hand  and  sought  to  reply ;  but  her  quivering 
lips  and  grateful  looks  were  the  only  response  she  could 
make.  But  there  was  a  wealth  of  language -in  her  dark 
eyes,  that  repaid  him  a  thousand-fold  for  the  peril  he 
had  undergone  for  their  sakes.  An  outcry  from  John 
brought  the  mate  to  his  feet. 

So  far,  they  had  ridden  slowly  out  over  ten  inferior 
breakers  without  shipping  a  sea ;  until  all  began  to  depre 
ciate  the  danger  which  they  had  looked  for.  John's 
experienced  eye  had  detected  the  first  humping-up  of 
three  monstrous  rollers.  Beginning  farther  out  on  the 
verge  of  the  shoal  than  the  rest,  even  beyond  the 
anchored  boat,  there  the  surf  heaped  up  into  furious 
crests,  frothing,  and  threatening  destruction  to  the  poor 
little  raft,  for  the  foam  was  breaking  twenty  feet  above  its 
occupants. 


The  King  Breakers.  325 

Raymond  stooped  quickly  and  drew  the  sail  a  few  feet 
over  the  heads  of  his  sacred  charge,  and  bade  them  hold  in 
their  breath  when  the  surf  struck.  Then  a  brief  word  to 
the  Kanaka :  "  Drop  flat  on  the  raft  when  it  strikes,  John, 
and  hold  hard  for  your  life,  boy."  And  he  followed  his 
own  instructions. 

There  was  just  time  for  a  word  of  prayer  while  the  raft 
lifted  on  the  forefoot  of  the  first  gigantic  roller,  when 
down  came  ten  feet  depth  of  hissing,  spuming  foam,  roll 
ing  over  the  bowed  heads  of  the  crouching  men,  and 
crashing  down  against  those  under  the  sail.  Three  suc 
cessive  times  the  rollers  hid  the  raft  wholly  from  view. 
The  king  breakers  of  St.  Paul  had  done  their  worst,  and 
passed  harmlessly  away,  leaving  the  four  occupants  of  the 
stanch  raft  alive  and  safe.  , 

Again  a  cry  of  delirious  joy  burst  forth  from  the  ship's 
crew  at  the  signal  deliverance  of  their  loved  young  mate 
and  his  rescued  ones.  When  the  last  breaker  swept  over 
them,  Raymond  sprang  up,  drenched  to  the  skin,  and 
half  stunned  by  the  blows  on  his  head.  Flinging  off  the 
wet  sail-  from  the  ghastly  faces  of  Mr.  Lawrence  and  his 
daughter,  Raymond  bade  John  unlash  the  one,  while  he 
knelt  tenderly  over  the  other  to  unloose  the  ropes  which 
bound  her  to  the  raft,  and  bid  them  cheer,  for  further 
danger  from  breakers  and  other  proximity  to  death  was 
passed. 

While  John  helped  the  half-moribund  man  to  sit  up, 
Raymond  took  the  sick  girl  in  his  arms,  and  bade  her  look 
about  upon  liberty  and  life  once  more.  Pointing  with 
pride  to  the  beautiful  ship  to  which  they  were  going,  and 
to  the  men  in  the  boat  whose  strong  arms  were  bowsing 


326  T/ie  Fleetwing. 

them  out  of  death  by  starvation,  lie  begged  her  to  listen 
to  the  heart-felt  cheering  for  their  safety,  and  believe  that 
all  danger  was  passed. 

Thus  artfully  did  Raymond  succeed  in  snatching  the 
dazed  girl  from  her  alarming  condition  of  mental  stasis, 
and  brought  back  a  normal  beat  to  her  almost  pulseless 
heart  once  more.  So  great  had  been  their  terror  at  being 
buried  beneath  the  avalanche  of  waters,  that  they  were 
both  near  dying  with  fright,  when  the  rescue  was  com 
pleted.  The  re-action  came  quickly  in  the  girl.  The 
vacant  look  went  out  of  her  eyes,  and  the  ashy  pallor 
abated  about  her  mouth,  and  both  were  soon  able  to  com 
prehend  that  the  hungry  maw  of  the  breakers  could  reach 
them  no  more. 

Tears,  grateful  tears,  ran  down  the  cheeks  of  the 
redeemed  ones,  while  their  lips  •  quivered  in  voiceless 
prayers,  as  they  both  seized  a  hand  of  their  deliverer. 
Their  faces  beamed  with  love  and  gratitude  for  the  brave, 
strong  soul  who  had  thus  entered  into  the  valley  of  death 
to  save  them. 

In  the  midst  of  this  scene,  the  raft  was  hauled  along 
side  the  waist-boat,  when  the  boisterous  crew  stopped 
their  cheering,  hushed  with  awe  at  the  affecting  scene 
they  beheld.  Braybrook,  Morey,  old  Tom,  and  Ben  were 
alike  in  tears  as  they  saw  the  reverence  and  love  ex 
pressed  by  the  wrecked  ones  for  their  deliverer,  and  heard 
the  tremulous  voice  of  the  white-haired  old  man  calling 
upon  Heaven  to  bless  them  for  their  part  in  the  rescue. 
Uncle  Joe  stood  with  clasped  hands  in  his  boat,  praying 
aloud  to  the  Giver  of  all  good  for  his  beneficent  guidance 
in  all  which  had  transpired.  It  was  an  affecting  scene, 
never  to  be  forgotten  by  those  who  witnessed  it. 


The  Rescued  Ones.  327 

At  a  signal  from  the  mate,  Mr.  Bailey  pulled  up  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  raft,  ready  to  take  the  wrecked  ones 
on  board.  Lifting  Miss  Lawrence  tenderly  in  his  arms, 
Raymond  stepped  into  the  bow-boat,  and  seated  himself 
on  the  after  thwart.  John  did  the  same  by  the  old  gen 
tleman,  for  both  of  the  rescued  ones  were  too  weak  to 
help  themselves  in  the  least.  They  could  not  even  sit  up 
in  the  tottling  boat,  so  terrified  had  they  been  by  the 
recent  crash  of  breakers,  and  so  prostrating  was  their 
overflow  of  joy  and  thanksgiving  for  safety. 

There  they  sat  for  twenty  minutes  watching  the  ap 
proaching  ship,  while  she  tacked  round  and  ran  down 
toward  them,  and  hauled  aback.  While  Braybrook  was 
preparing  to  take  the  raft  to  the  ship,  Uncle  Joe  shot  his 
boat  alongside,  in  the  waist-boat's  place,  as  most  conve 
nient  for  hoisting  up  his  passengers.  Every  man  in  the 
ship  sprang  to  the  tackle-falls,  running  the  boat  up  to  her 
cranes  with  song  and  chorus.  There  stood  Captain  Tal- 
bert  and  the  ladies,  anxiously  awaiting  the  unfortunates, 
and  eager  to  render  some  assistance  to  the  sick  girl. 

Miss  Lawrence  had  fainted,  from  excessive  emotion, 
while  the  boat  was  being  hoisted ;  and,  thinking  she  was 
dying,  the  ladies  sorrowed  over  the  pale  girl  as  over  a 
dear  friend.  Raymond  stepped  out  with  the  limp  form  in 
his  arms,  carried  her  into  the  lower  cabin,  and  laid  her 
in  the  berth  near  Miss  Allston's.  He  showed  no  haste  in 
resuscitating  the  girl,  but  at  once  began,  in  his  province 
of  physician,  to  dress  the  painful  burns  with  a  soothing 
embrocation,  glad  to  have  her  remain  in  a  syncopic  con 
dition  while  her  wounds  were  being  bandaged,  so  long  as 
the  systole  of  the  heart  continued.  Having  administered 


328  The  Fleetwing. 

the  indicated  remedy  to  prevent  nerve-shock,  he  left  the 
still  faint  girl  in  the  tender  care  of  the  ladies,  to  be 
dressed  in  some  more  suitable  underwear  of  their  own. 

Raymond  had  ordered  Mr.  Lawrence  put  into  his  berth. 
There  he  found  the  old  gentleman  lying  weak  as  an 
infant,  so  anxious  about  the  precarious  condition  of  his 
daughter  that  he  could  not  rest.  When  re-assured  about 
her,  and  given  to  understand  that  his  own  recovery  would 
do  more  than  anything  else  toward  the  convalescence  of 
Miss  Nellie,  he  remained  passive  and  restful,  sleeping 
most  of  the  day. 

Having  set  the  steward  to  making  some  thoroughly 
cooked  gruel  of  Indian  meal  for  the  patients,  Raymond 
got  out  of  his  wet  clothes,  and  then  permitted  himself  to 
devour  a  hearty  meal,  with  the  hopeful  endeavor  of 
making  up  for  the  starvation  rations  of  the  past  day. 
The  ship  had  taken  aboard  the  raft,  weighed  the  kedge 
anchor  which  had  done  such  good  service,  and  had  been 
kept  away  on  her  course,  close-hauled  to  the  south, 
the  trade  wind  having  steadied  into  a  mild,  warm 
breeze. 

Miss  Allston  came  up  before  the  mate  had  finished 
eating,  to  say  that  the  girl  had  dropped  into  a  quiet 
sleep,  without  coming  out  of  her  faint,  and  that  the  heart 
had  regained  a  fairly  normal  beat,  and  a  wee  bit  of  color 
had  come  into  her  cheeks.  She  was  told  to  let  her 
sleep  to  her  own  time  of  waking,  as  the  pain  from  her 
burns  would  throw  her  into  high  fever  when  she  woke. 

John  Kanaka  had  been  entertaining  the  people  amid 
ships  with  his  adventures  during  the  night  aboard  the 
wreck.  And  now  Braybrook  and  Bailey  joined  the  cap- 


Relating  the  Story.  329 

tain  and  ladies  in  the  main  cabin,  eager  to  hear  Raymond 
relate  his  experience  on  the  wreck,  and  learn  the  incidents 
of  the  vessel's  running  ashore,  as  well  as  the  history  of 
the  two  rescued  ones. 

The  ladies  cried  bitterly  over  the  piteous  state  in  which 
the  girl  was  found,  and  declared  that  she  was  a  brave, 
noble  girl  to  resist  such  terrors,  and  keep  such  unselfish 
oversight  over  her  aged  father.  They  one  and  all  ex 
pressed  well  grounded  fears  that  Mr.  Lawrence  would 
never  rally  from  the  mental  shock  he  had  received. 
When  re-assured  on  that  point,  the  captain  was  asked 
where  he  should  land  the  new  passengers. 

In  reply,  he  said  that  he  would  give  Mr.  Lawrence  his 
choice  of  landing  at  Pernambuco  or  Rio,  adding  that  he 
wished  to  send  home  a  mail  from  one  or  the  other  of 
these  ports,  to  have  the  last  lot  of  oil  insured,  and  to 
increase  the  insurance  on  the  ship,  in  fear  she  might  be 
wrecked,  as  it  is  a  peculiar  idiosyncrasy  of  shipmasters 
to  take  aboard  a  shipload  of  needless  anxiety  for  a  while 
after  seeing  the  wreck  of  another  vessel. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE    DIPLOMACY   OF    LOVE. 

A  SHRIEK  coming  from  the  lower  cabin  soon  broke 
•**•  up  the  pleasant  reunion  above-stairs.  Raymond 
sprang  up  and  went  down  to  Miss  Lawrence,  who  had 
waked  in  less  fever,  but  demented  by  her  pains  and 
the  anaemic  condition  of  her  brain.  She  was  now  scream 
ing  for  help,  not  for  herself,  but  for  some  one  to  save  her 
poor  old  father  from  being  burned  to  death  on  the  wreck. 

The  ladies  followed  quickly  down,  and  endeavored  by 
soothing  words  and  gentle  strokes  on  her  forehead  to  re 
assure  the  startled  girl.  Raymond  scanned  the  patient 
anxiously  a  moment,  and  then  sought  to  administer  some 
remedy  by  which  to  permanently  alleviate  the  dementia, 
and  also  her  numerous  other  bad  symptoms.  It  is  a  nice 
point  in  therapeutics  to  determine  just  what  to  give  in 
such  a  sudden  metastasis  of  disease,  but  the  physician 
who  is  master  of  his  Materia  Medica  is  not  long  left  in 
doubt  at  the  bedside,  whatever  the  nature  of  the  case. 

Aconite  had  seemed  to  Raymond  the  only  internal 
remedy  required  to  subdue  the  high  fever  and  great  fear, 
together  with  the  restlessness  and  unquenchable  thirst. 
But  other  important  indications  had  supervened  during 
sleep.  The  febrile  condition  had  changed.  The  apprehen 
sion  was  now  more  for  another  than  for  herself,  the  girl 

330 


The  Indicated  Remedy.  3  3 1 

still  having  a  lingering  dread  of  being  left  alone.  While 
the  thirst  was  now  only  for  small,  frequent  drinks,  —  a 
swallow  at  a  time,  —  her  previous  ghastly  pallor  had  given 
place  to  a  cold,  damp,  bluish  skin,  accompanied  by  great 
sinking  of  the  vital  forces,  —  most  alarming  symptoms, 
which  demanded  immediate  relief. 

There  is  but  one  unmistakable  remedy  for  such  a  case  of 
blood-poisoning  as  this.  Arsenicum,  given  in  small  doses 
of  the  thirtieth  potency,  not  only  covers  all  the  above  symp 
toms,  but  is  also  the  internal  remedy  in  such  excessive 
burns,  to  prevent  undue  suppuration  from  a  large  raw 
surface. 

This  specific  was  administered  in  grain  doses,  once  an 
hour.  Soon  after  each  dose  of  medicine,  a  dessertspoon 
ful  of  meal  gruel  was  given,  seasoned  with  cayenne,  which 
is  the  best  of  all  stimulants  in  either  congestive  or  blue 
chills.  An  improvement  soon  took  place,  in  color,  pulse, 
and  temperature,  while  the  pinched,  sunken,  deathly  look 
of  the  face  passed  away,  and  in  less  than  two  hours  the 
patient  was  again  sleeping  a  natural  sleep. 

Mr.  Lawrence  had  heard  the  wild  shrieks  of  his 
daughter,  and  demanded  of  the  steward  to  be  taken  down 
to  his  sick  child.  After  Raymond  had  selected  and  ^ivan 
his  remedy,  he  heard  a  groan  and  piteous  outcry  behind. 
He  turned  and  saw  Mr.  Lawrence  sitting  on  the  transom- 
locker,  supported  by  the  steward,  horrified  at  the  death 
like  appearance  of  his  daughter. 

"  Where's  the  doctor  ?  "  the  old  man  asked,  in  a  weak, 
hoarse  whisper,  addressing  his  appalled  looks  and  feeble 
words  to  the  mate. 

"  I  am  the  best  substitute  we  have  for  one  here,  sir, 


33-  The  Flee  twin g. 

American  whale   ships   do  not  carry  physicians.     But  I 
think  I  can  save  your  child." 

"  No,  no  !     My  poor  Nellie  is  lost  to  me  forever." 

"  Pray  God,  Mr.  Lawrence,  that  my  efforts  may  be  suc 
cessful." 

"  Poor  deluded  youth !  How  can  you  expect  to  save 
my  child?  She  is  lying  at  the  point  of  death,  and  you 
do  not  know  it.  One  so  young  can  have  neither  knowl 
edge  nor  experience.  Father  in  heaven  !  have  mercy  on 
my  tottering  years,  and  spare  my  child." 

The  old  gentleman  fainted,  and  fell  into  the  arms  of  the 
steward,  whom  the  mate  ordered  to  carry  his  charge  back 
to  his  berth  and  not  allow  him  to  come  below  again. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  Miss  Lawrence  woke  refreshed 
and  clear-headed.  After  taking  a  cup  of  the  meal  gruel 
lo  fortify  her  stomach  against  nausea,  her  burns  were 
carefully  dressed  for  the  night.  Miss  Allston  and  Mrs. 
Talbert  took  turns  in  watching  over  her,  while  Raymond 
was  called  out  every  three  hours  to  inspect  the  condition 
of  his  patient.  She  passed  the  night  comfortably,  sleep 
ing  most  of  the  time.  Her  medicine  was  in  such  minute 
doses  that  it  could  be  dissolved  on  the  tongue  without 
waking  her. 

The  morning  found  the  sick  girl  mending  steadily.  At 
the  end  of  three  days  she  was  convalescing  rapidly  On 
the  fourth  day  she  was  taken  on  deck  and  laid  in  a  cot, 
slung  beneath  the  awning,  where  she  enjoyed  the  cool 
breeze,  and  thrived  on  the  balmy  tropic  air. 

Mr.  Lawrence  daily  gained  strength,  as  he  sat  in  his 
easy-chair  and  watched  the  marvellous  recovery  of  his 
daughter.  When  alone  by  himself  he  brooded  over  the 


Two  Rare  Blossoms.  333 

sad  events  of  the  wreck.  And  were  it  not  for  the  inter 
est  he  took  in  watching  the  hopeful  progress  of  his  child, 
the  old  man  would  hardly  have  survived  the  mental  shock 
which  he  had  received.  When  he  saw  how  dependent  his 
child  was  upon  Raymond's  attendance,  and  that  she  now 
owed  her  life  to  him  a  second  time,  the  doting  parent 
came  to  love  the  young  officer  with  an  enduring  attach 
ment. 

Miss  Lawrence  and  Miss  Allston  were  not  long  finding 
out  that  they  were  distantly  related,  through  Washington 
Allston,  who  was  a  cousin  of  their  mothers.  This  revela 
tion  proved  a  pleasant  adjuvant  for  the  invalid,  and  hence 
forth  the  two  girls  were  inseparable  companions.  Asenith 
had  previously  shown  herself  a  little  ungenerous,  because 
of  Nellie's  taking  up  Raymond's  attention  so  exclusively, 
to  the  neglect  of  all  others. 

Though  Miss  Allston  could  not  secure  one  of  those 
delightful  evening  chats  alone  with  the  mate,  as  of  old, 
she  could  at  least  be  so  fond  of  Nellie  Lawrence  as  to 
prevent  her  having  one  of  the  delicious  communal  talks 
and  walks  with  Raymond  in  the  starlight,  without  the 
presence  of  a  third  party. 

Between  the  two  girls,  they  contrived  to  occupy  most  of 
the  mate's  time  after  the  usual  evening  games  in  the 
cabin,  when  the  trio  —  with  or  without  Mrs.  Talbert  — 
would  linger  long  hours  about  the  taffrail,  or  in  one  of  the 
quarter-boats.  There  they  would  sit,  wing-and-wing,  a 
sturdy  young  oak  dove-tailed  between  two  rare  blossoms, 
as  different  in  color  and  texture  as  the  lily  and  the  rose; 
yet  both  sweet  and  companionable  girls. 

During  these  rare  evenings,  while  the  ship  ran   down 


334  The  Fleetwing. 

through  the  balmy  trades,  these  chatty  girls  would  press 
their  companion  to  teach  them  about  the  stars,  as  some  of 
the  most  noted  of  the  southern  constellations  and  nebula; 
were  then  coming  into  view.  Orion  hung  directly  above 
them,  in  some  of  their  late  talks.  He  is  an  equatorial 
constellation,  and  would  pass  the  meridian  on  the  23d  of 
January,  the  coming  month,  and  now  shone  in  his  greatest 
splendor,  near  neighbor  to  other  most  interesting  groups 
in  the  heavens. 

The  southeast  trades  came  light  and  unsteady  at  first. 
Not  unusual  when  so  near  their  northern  extremity,  where 
they  taper  down  next  door  to  nothing.  The  sea  had 
again  become  blue  and  transparent  as  glass.  The  minia 
ture  waves  made  one  laugh  to  see  them  swell  and  strut, 
trying  to  ape  the  pomp  and  swagger  of  their  larger  fel 
lows  ;  they  plumed  up  into  tiny  fringes  of  foam,  with  a 
deal  more  splutter  and  swirl  than  was  becoming. 

But  for  the  strong  westerly  current,  which  is  usual  to 
the  place,  the  ship  should  have  made  her  course  sailing 
free.  Instead  of  that,  she  was  braced  up  sharp  until  the 
lower  yards  breasted  in  the  lee  swifters  ;  while  the  topsail 
yards  were  so  near  fore-and-aft  as  to  give  their  lee  rigging 
a  skew  three  points  awry.  But  with  the  yards  thus  braced, 
and  the  bowlines  taut  as  fiddle-strings,  the  ship  could  sail 
a  point  and  a  half  to  weather  of  her  course,  and  would 
thus  make  up  for  the  leeward  sag  of  the  current. 

From  St.  Paul  to  Pernambuco  it  is  a  south-southwest 
course.  This  would  take  a  ship  to  the  east  of  Fernando 
Noronha.  But  as  the  westerly  current  splits  at  Cape  St. 
Roque,  a  part  running  south,  along  the  coast,  past  Cape 
Frio,  a  vessel  need  not  mind  the  leeward  sag  near  the 


Passing  St.  Roque.  335 

Equator,  even  if  she  is  currented  west  to  the  Roccas 
Shoals;  for  if  she  can  but  weather  St.  Roque,  the  current 
will  then  be  in  her  favor. 

Although  he  knew  this  fact,  from  the  experience  of 
others,  yet  Captain  Talbert  was  unwilling  to  let  the  ship 
sag  so  far  west  as  the  Roccas ;  yet  there  the  much 
dreaded  current  began  to  abate,  and  in  latitude  5°  south, 
it  fairly  curved  southward,  greatly  accelerating  the  speed 
of  the  ship,  and  she  passed  St.  Roque,  Lat.  5°  28',  with  a 
leading  current  and  a  free  wind. 

The  trades  freshened  after  passing  the  cape,  and  the 
upper  yards  were  rounded  well  in  ;  while  the  lower  yards 
were  checked  in  a  trifle,  not  to  strain  the  trusses ;  and 
were  then  well  supported  by  strong  preventer  braces. 

This  new  trim  quickened  the  ship's  paces  amazingly. 
In  an  instant  the  antic  jade  was  flinging  up  a  jet  of  blue 
brine  from  her  cutwater  tasselled  with  foam ;  wetting  the 
clew  of  her  foretopsail  with  spoondrift,  and  carrying  a 
rousing  white  bone  in  her  teeth.  The  log-line  scored  six 
teen  and  a  half  knots,  much  to  the  delight  of  the  Law 
rences,  who  had  never  seen  the  beautiful  creature  in  one 
of  her  frisky  moods.  Another  such  day's  sailing  would 
take  the  ship  to  Pernambuco,  where  Mr.  Lawrence  had 
decided  to  debark. 

It  became  known  throughout  the  ship  that  Mr.  Law 
rence  and  Nellie  had  frequently  urged  Captain  Talbert  to 
give  up  his  mate  and  let  him  go  home  with  them,  promis 
ing  that  Raymond  should  have  all  of  this  world's  goods 
that  he  could  desire.  As  the  father  did  not  succeed,  his 
daughter  had  latterly  taken  up  the  matter,  pleading  with 
the  soft-hearted  captain  as  only  a  beautiful  girl  could  do 


336  The  Fleetwing. 

when  intent  upon  bestowing  a  suitable  recompense  upon 
her  preserver. 

Perhaps  it  might  be  deemed  a  little  unkind  in  the  cap 
tain,  and  certainly  purely  selfish  in  Miss  Allston,  to 
intimate  —  for  want  of  better  argument  —  that  Raymond's 
heart  was  already  irrevocably  bound  up  in  another 
girl,  and  that  he  could  not  possibly  be  induced  to  go  to 
Boston  to  live.  Yet  both  the  captain  and  Miss  Allston 
came  to  bitterly  repent  of  their  audacious  insinuation  to 
this  high-bred  girl,  when  she  retorted  :  — 

"  Only  a  shallow,  selfish  heart  could  blame  her  father 
or  herself  for  proffering  the  highest  guerdon  within  their 
power  —  their  love  and  their  lives — to  the  only  man  in  a 
ship's  company  willing  to  peril  life  to  snatch  them  from  a 
dreadful  death." 

The  tears  and  sobs  of  the  beautiful  girl  on  this  occa 
sion  were  not  needed  to  enforce  her  bitter  retort.  But  they 
availed  greatly  with  the  captain,  who  at  once  gave  up  the 
battle,  and  surrendered,  foot,  horse,  and  dragoon.  And 
it  was  understood  from  that  hour  that  if  Raymond  chose 
to  ask  the  captain  for  his  discharge,  he  could  have  it. 

But  all  their  precious  arguments  did  not  deter  Miss 
Lawrence  from  occupying  every  moment  of  Raymond's 
time  and  attention  she  could  find  plausible  excuse  for 
doing,  in  her  capacity  of  a  patient  who  did  not  wish  to 
recover  too  fast.  This  charming,  well  bred  girl  was  not 
above  the  feminine  wiles  of  her  sex  in  such  a  desperate 
gage  of  battle.  She  became  an  adept  at  noting  pulse- 
beats,  the  proper  cardiac  rhythm,  and  the  dangerous 
aspect  of  a  very  red  tongue  —  red  lips  not  being  included. 
And  when  the  pretty  invalid  could  honestly  detect  some 


The  Debonair  Girl.  337 

sluggish  action,  accelerated  beat,  or  awry  look  of  her 
prattling  lingual  'member,  she  instantly  made  use  of  the 
latter  to  call  the  steward,  and  send  him  for  her  honored 
physician  and  loved  preserver. 

It  was  immaterial  who  were  in  presence,  or  what  the 
social  surroundings  might  be,  when  Raymond  came,  at  her 
call.  Pretty  Nellie  Lawrence  would  hold  out  her  dainty 
little  hand  for  an  examination  of  her  radial  pulse,  una 
bashed  at  the  insufficient  pretext  which  had  excited  her 
fears.  Or  if  the  call  was  to  be  made  more  urgent,  she 
declared  that  something  serious  must  be  the  matter  with 
her  heart,  and  demanded  auscultation  of  that  important 
member,  both  posteriorly  and  anteriorly,  together  with 
careful  digital  touch,  to  feel  how  the  poor  heart  jumped,  as 
if  it  would  leap  from  her  bosom ;  as  if  the  whole  present 
company  could  not  have  easily  diagnosed  the  girl's  heart- 
disease  through  her  soft,  dark  eyes,  which  were  ever  fast 
ened  upon  Raymond's  face  with  unstinted  admiration. 

It  would  be  far  too  much  to  assume  that  the  young 
mate  was  wholly  indifferent  to  the  deep-seated  admiration 
of  this  debonair  girl ;  for  Charles  Raymond  was  very  hu 
man,  and  Miss  Lawrence  was  elegant  in  her  manners, 
and  of  transcendent  beauty.  Whether  he  would  or  no, 
the  one  day  of  peril  which  they  had  undergone  together 
had  linked  this  girl  to  his  life  forever. 

A  man  does  not  willingly  risk  life  for  a  woman  without 
subsequently  placing  her  upon  a  higher  niche  than  he  allots 
to  most  others;  and  Raymond's  success  in  snatching  Nellie 
from  a  second  death,  in  his  capacity  of  physician,  served 
to  intensify  this  bond.  He  could  not  but  look  upon  this 
girl  with  a  sober,  brotherly  affection,  until  there  had 


338  The  Flectwiug. 

sprung  up  a  beautiful  confidence  between  them,  born  of 
the  occasion  ;  something  more  enduring  than  lay  between 
him  and  any  other  woman. 

Raymond  intuitively  knew  that  he  had  rightfully  earned 
this  girl's  confidence,  as  no  man  else  could  ever  secure  it 
by  years  of  kindly  conventional  acts  of  life.  The  man  felt 
himself  entitled  to  the  highest  diploma  of  trust  which  a 
woman  can  bestow.  Feeling  this,  and  knowing  the  purity 
of  motive  which  induced  him  to  save  her,  with  a  man's 
egotism  he  accepted  her  gratitude  and  affection  as  his 
due,  and  would  give  her  the  best  he  could  in  return. 

Late  in  the  afternoon,  as  the  ship  approached  Pernam- 
buco,  Mr.  Lawrence  asked  Raymond  into  his  state-room 
for  an  interview,  and  at  once  made  the  proposition  that  he 
should  leave  the  ship  and  go  home  with  him,  saying :  — 

"  Mr.  Raymond,  we  are  fast  nearing  port.  Nellie  and  I 
leave  the  ship  to-morrow,  and  I  wish  to  make  you  the 
formal  offer  to  go  home  with  us,  that  I  may  adopt  you  as 
my  son.  Nellie  is  my  only  remaining  child  ;  and  but  for 
you,  I  should  now  be  childless. 

"  Wait,  my  dear  young  friend,  and  hear  me  out,"  as  the 
mate  made  an  attempt  to  answer.  "  Captain  Talbert  has 
consented  to  your  discharge,  if  you  ask  for  it ;  though  the 
good  old  man  loves  you  dearly.  He  tells  me  that  you  are 
wedded  to  sea-life.  If  so,  I  have  several  ships  of  a  thou 
sand  tons  or  more,  any  of  which  you  shall  command,  if  you 
wish.  But  I  had  rather  you  would  stay  ashore  with  us, 
and  take  charge  of  my  part  of  the  mercantile  business  of 
Lawrence  Brothers,  for  which  purpose  I  will  furnish  you 
all  the  necessary  means.  Let  me  hope  that  you  will  accept 
this  offer  as  frankly  as  I  have  made  it." 


The  Generous  Offer.  339 

Raymond  was  not  made  of  the  material  to  stoically 
receive  or  reject  such  a  test  of  love  and  gratitude  as  this. 
Tears  sprang  to  his  eyes  when  he  saw  how  much  Mr. 
Lawrence  had  set  his  heart  on  this  generous  scheme,  and 
he  replied  with  a  broken  voice  :  — 

"  Really,  Mr.  Lawrence,  I  am  sorry  you  have  put  me 
into  a  position  like  this.  It  pains  me  to  have  to  refuse 
any  request  of  yours.  But  I  could  not  think  of  accepting 
such  generous  compensation  for  any  service  of  mine." 

"  Don't  say  that,  my  young  friend.  My  daughter  and  I 
owe  our  lives  to  your  admirable  courage  and  skill ;  and 
you  must  not  assume  that  any  recompense  in  my  power  to 
give  can  requite  the  obligation  you  have  put  us  under. 
Believe  me,  my  son,  my  mature  judgment  must  be  better 
than  yours  in  this  matter." 

"  Perhaps  so,  dear  sir ;  but  then  a  sailor  must  sail  by  his 
own  chart  and  compass  in  this  life.  This  is  the  third 
time  that  I  have  been  compelled  to  differ  from  you  in 
vital  matters,  sir ;  and  as  my  reasoning  proved  good  in 
our  two  previous  differences,  I  must  still  abide  by  my  own 
conscience  in  this  case." 

"  Pray,  young  man,  in  what  have  we  ever  differed 
before  ? " 

"  It  ought  not  to  be  necessary  for  me  to  recall  the  time 
when  Mr.  Lawrence  wished  me  to  leave  him  on  the  wreck 
to  die  in  peace,  rather  than  hasten  his  death  by  drowning 
in  the  surf.  And  after  we  came  aboard,  you  assumed  that 
your  daughter  was  already  in  the  hands  of  death,  and 
declared  that  I  could  not  possibly  have  the  knowledge 
and  experience  to  combat  such  a  case.  In  both  cases, 
your  maturer  judgment  was  in  the  wrong." 


340  The  Fteetwing. 

'•  Ah,  yes,  ah,  yes.  God  be  praised  !  But  then  one  could 
not  look  to  find  such  ingenuity  in  the  first  case ;  nor 
expect  such  a  fund  of  medical  lore  in  one  so  young,  and  a 
sailor  at  that.  This  is  another  matter,  and  I  must  be 
right.  Perhaps  I  ought  to  tell  you  that  Nellie  joins  me 
heart  and  soul  in  this  offer,  in  which  you  will  become  my 
son  and  her  brother." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Lawrence,  you  dear  old  man,  don't  make 
this  task  any  more  difficult  for  me  to  decide.  Believe 
me,  dear  sir,  I  shall  always  love  and  venerate  you,  and 
hold  your  precious  Nellie  in  the  highest  esteem  as  long 
as  I  live." 

"  Don't  deny  me,  Raymond  dear ;  Nellie  and  I  have 
put  more  heart  into  this  matter  than  you  conceive.  Why 
should  you,  with  your  natural  gifts,  be  toiling  on  the  sea 
—  especially  in  your  most  dangerous  of  all  occupations  — 
when  we,  your  debtors,  are  eager  to  share  with  you  our 
home,  our  hearts,  and  all  our  worldly  goods.  I  cannot 
take  your  refusal,  you  most  obstinate  of  men." 

The  old  man  caught  Raymond  in  his  arms,  and  the 
tears  streamed  over  his  wrinkled  visage  and  down  his 
long  white  beard.  He  felt  heart-broken,  in  his  senile 
grief,  to  think  of  separating  from  one  who  had  rendered 
such  vital  aid  to  himself  and  his  darling  child.  Raymond, 
too,  was  distressed  to  know  how  he  could  mollify  the  old 
man's  sorrow. 

"  Look  upon  me  as  a  son,  if  you  wish,  Mr.  Lawrence,  and 
I  will  endeavor  to  be  worthy  of  your  adoption  and  your 
love ;  and  let  me  be  a  loving  brother  to  Nellie,  who  is  a 
noble,  beautiful  girl.  But,  believe  me,  I  love  the  sea  and 
the  adventures  of  whaling  which  I  have  adopted,  and  I 


Off  0  tin  da.  341 

mean  to  abide  by  it  till  I  am  master  of  this,  the  best  ship 
in  the  service." 

"  But  you  have  done  so  much  for  us,  we  want  to  keep 
you  with  us  forever,"  exclaimed  the  old  man  through  his 
tears. 

"  You  have  made  too  much  of  my  poor  services.  I 
would  gladly  undertake  the  same  thing  to-morrow  for  a 
stranger,  for  it  is  my  nature  to  doat  on  such  perils.  So 
let  us  say  no  more  of  this "  ;  and  he  put  the  old  man 
away  from  him,  and  tried  to  smile  away  his  tears. 

"  Be  it  as  you  will,  you  noble,  obstinate  fellow.  But  it 
will  break  poor  Nellie's  heart,  I  fear." 

"  I  will  be  to  the  dear  girl  all  that  an  absent  brother 
can  be.  And  the  voyage  promises  not  to  be  l«ng." 

And  the  two  left  the  state-room  in  response  to  the  stew 
ard's  call  to  supper.  The  ladies  and  Captain  Talbert 
were  already  seated  at  table.  Tears  came  to  Miss  Law 
rence's  eyes  as  she  made  room  for  her  father  at  her 
side,  for  she  knew  by  his  sorrowful  face  and  tearful  eyes 
that  his  mission  had  not  succeeded  as  they  wished. 

When  evening  shut  down,  the  ship  was  running  close 
along  the  Brazilian  shore.  A  beautiful  gleam  from  the 
lighthouse  at  Olinda  lit  up  the  faces  of  the  cabin-group,  as 
they  sat  aft  around  the  taffrail,  watching  the  light  abreast 
of  them,  and  intent  upon  waiting  for  the  tv/o  island  lights 
at  Pernambuco  to  heave  in  sight. 

Mr.  Lawrence  had  taken  occasion  after  supper  to  com 
municate  his  ill-success  to  his  daughter,  and  their  mutual 
disappointment  at  Raymond's  refusal  now  threw  a  visible 
gloom  over  the  party.  Mrs.  Talbert  understood  the  cause, 
and  the  good-hearted  lady  did  the  best  she  could  to 


342  The  Fleeiwing. 

enliven  the  solemn  scene.  She  urged  upon  Raymond  to 
tell  them  something  of  the  towns  they  were  passing,  and 
induced  the  captain  to  relate  some  of  his  many  expe 
riences  at  the  port  which  they  were  about  to  enter/ 

Though  Miss  Lawrence  had  fully  convalesced  at  the 
time,  she  was  still  favored  with  the  seat  of  honor  upon  all 
such  occasions  as  this.  She  chose  the  cushioned  seat 
around  the  elliptic  stern,  so  that  she  could  recline,  with 
her  back  to  the  round-house.  Whether  her  purpose  was 
obvious  to  others  or  not,  she  expressed  just  sufficient 
timidity  about  being  pitched  out  by  the  roll  of  the  ship, 
to  induce  Raymond  to  move  his  chair  up  close  beside  her, 
where  she  could  rest  her  arm  upon  his  shoulder. 

When  thus  cosily  seated  about  the  taffrail,  the  group  first 
listened  to  the  mate's  experience  among  the  convents  at 
Olinda,  where  the  pretty  Portuguese  nuns  make  rare  feather 
flowers,  and  are  sufficiently  worldly-minded  to  know  that 
a  callow  young  sailor  will  pay  twice  as  much  for  their 
feather-work  as  his  elders,  as  Raymond  subsequently 
learned  on  shipboard.  The  captain  followed  with  many 
amusing  incidents  which  had  happened  to  him,  both  at 
Olinda  and  Recife. 

During  these  recitals,  the  frequent  sighs  of  Miss  Law 
rence  were  possibly  noticed  by  no  one  but  Raymond,  as 
the  two  sat  there  in  the  starlight,  snuggled  closely  to 
gether.  When,  at  length,  the  girl's  burden  of  regrets 
became  unendurable,  she  leaned  yet  more  closely  upon 
her  companion,  and  spoke  in  low  tones  upon  the  sad 
topic  lying  nearest  to  her  heart  :  — 

"  Father  tells  me  that  you  have  refused  to  leave  the 
sea  and  go  home  with  us,  Mr.  Raymond,"  spoken  in  a 


Nellie  s  Heart  Disease.  343 

low,  sweet  cadence  made  pathetic  by  the  proximity  of 
tears. 

"Yes,  I  could  not  do  otherwise.  You  have  both  made 
too  much  of  my  poor  services." 

"  How  can  you  say  that,  Mr.  Raymond  ?  Is  there  any 
thing  of  more  value  than  one's  life  ?  And  have  you  not 
given  a  father  and  daughter  a  renewed  lease  of  their 
lives  ? " 

"  But,  Miss  Lawrence,  your  father  seeks  to  put  me 
under  too  great  obligation.  Don't  you  see,  dear  girl,  that, 
feeling  as  I  do  about  this  matter,  I  could  not  endure  it  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  you  are  right.  But  you  have  promised  pa 
that  you  will  become  his  adopted  son,  and  accept  his  poor 
little  Nellie  as  your  loving  sister.  For  this  much  let  me 
thank  you  with  all  my  heart." 

"  Yes,  dear,  if  this  much  is  acceptable  to  you  both,  I 
shall  feel  myself  honored  by  your  esteem." 

"  Oh,  Raymond,  how  can  you  doubt  it  ?  We  both  feel 
that  all  we  possess  is  inadequate  to  repay  your  one  noble 
act.  Your  refusal  to  go  home  with  us  has  made  me  feel 
very  sad.  My  heart  beats  terribly ;  I  fear  it  is  a  valvular 
trouble,  or  perhaps  enlargement ;  what  do  you  think  ?  " 

"  It  is  simply  neurotic." 

"  There  !  That  was  a  sharp  clutching  feeling,  like  the 
grip  of  an  iron  hand.  What  is  your  remedy  for  such  a 
disorder  ? " 

"  Cactus  Grandiflorus  covers  that  symptom  beautifully, 
and  will  relieve  you  in  a  moment.  Let  me  go  and  get  you 
some." 

"  No,  indeed.  We  are  seated  so  comfortably  that  I 
can't  spare  you.  And  then  it  would  be  a  little  rude  to 


344  The  Fleetwing. 

leave  while  Captain  Talbert  is  talking.  Just  see,  please, 
if  my  pulse  isn't  acting  awfully,"  and  she  laid  her  opposite 
hand  across  her  lap  for  his  professional  inspection. 

"  Yes,  dear  girl,  it  is  a  trifle  excited ;  and  your  poor 
little  heart  thumps  against  my  shoulder  like  the  wings  of 
an  imprisoned  bird."  And  Nellie  leaned  a  trifle  more 
closely  to  port,  that  her  good  doctor  should  have  the  most 
favorable  opportunity  to  observe  her  cardiac  trouble, 
saying,  in  her  sweet,  musical  tones  :  — 

"  I'm  sure,  dear  Raymond,  that  you  can  cure  it,  if  you 
are  attentive  to  me  " ;  and  her  soft  words  were  rounded 
off  by  a  most  convincing  sigh,  which  left  no  doubt  of  the 
profound  nature  of  her  trouble. 

"  Certainly,  it  is  curable.  But  you  must  strive  to  regain 
quiet,  so  as  to  insure  a  good  night's  rest  against  the 
time  of  your  boat-journey  ashore  to-morrow."  Raymond 
sought  to  withdraw  his  hand  from  the  girl's  pulse,  but 
Nellie  caught  it  in  her  own  tiny  palm,  and  held  it  fast, 
saying :  — 

"  No.  I  want  your  hand,  my  brother.  If  we  are  to  be 
loving  brother  and  sister,  as  you  have  solemnly  promised 
we  may,  then  I  shall  assert  my  sisterly  privilege  from  this 
moment.  May  I  not,  dear  Raymond  ?  "  And  she  cooed 
his  loved  name  in  a  low  warble  into  his  ear. 

"That  shall  be  as  you  wish,  Miss "  said  the  half 

alarmed  sailor.  But  the  sprightly  girl  clapped  her  dis 
engaged  hand  over  the  mate's  mouth  in  a  twinkling,  say 
ing,  in  her  sweet,  prompt  way  :  — 

"  Oh,  please  don't  ever  '  Miss  '  me  again.  If  I  am  to 
be  your  truly  sister,  I  want  to  be  your  little  sister  Nellie, 
and  never,  never,  Miss  Anybody  else." 


Something  Sweet.  345 

Raymond  laughed  quietly  at  the  girl's  swift  sisterly 
advances,  which  slightly  overawed  the  modest  fellow. 
But  he  responded  by  saying  that  it  should  be  just  as  she 
wished. 

"  Of  course  it  should  be  as  I  wish.  And  now,  my 
precious  brother,  promise  to  write  us  from  every  port,  pa 
and  me.  Though  it  would  be  much  nicer  if  you  will 
always  write  me  a  letter  all  for  myself.  You  must  begin, 
'  My  own  dear  Sister  Nellie,'  and  always  end  with  some 
thing  sweet,  for  I  shall  never  let  a  soul  see  it.  And  you 
mustn't  forget  to  tell  us  just  where  to  send  our  letters." 
The  girl  hummed  a  lively  air,  showing  that  the  heart- 
disease  was  steadily  improving  under  the  magnetic  prox 
imity  of  her  new  brother. 

"  Yes,  dear  Nellie,  I  shall  be  glad  to  write  to  you  both, 
relating  everything  about  our  voyage.  Our  next  port  will 
probably  be  Valparaiso.  But  no  letters  should  be  sent 
there  after  January,  as  we  should  be  more  likely  to  receive 
them  if  sent  to  Honolulu." 

"  Won't  it  be  a  long  time  to  wait  before  we  hear  from 
you  ? "  The  newly  made  sister  stroked  and  fondled  her 
brother's  hand  with  her  dainty  little  fingers,  taking  a  deal 
of  comfort  out  of  the  easy,  confidential  way  that  she  had 
assumed,  as  a  right  which  she  meant  to  maintain. 

"  Not  very  long,  dear.  You  will  hear  from  me  in  a 
month  or  two  after  your  return." 

It  was  getting  late,  and  still  the  captain  talked  on.  The 
wind  had  dropped  light,  and  the  lighthouses  at  Recife  had 
not  yet  appeared.  The  company  were  getting  a  little 
impatient.  Miss  Allston  left  her  seat  by  Mr.  Lawrence, 
and  came  and  sat  at  Nellie's  feet,  She  had  kept  aloof 


346  Tlie  Flcetwing. 

from  her  room-mate  as  long  as  she  could,  and  Miss 
Lawrence  now  showed  her  appreciation  of  it  by  making 
room  for  Asenith  ;  but  was  not  quite  willing  to  give  up 
Raymond's  hand,  when  her  girl  companion  sought  for  a 
small  digit  to  fondle. 

Raymond  now  discovered  that  proximity  to  land  had 
induced  quite  a  dew-fall.  He  started  up  at  once,  and 
insisted  that  both  father  and  daughter  should  go  in  out  of 
the  evening  damp.  As  the  ladies  all  rose  to  enter  the 
cabin,  the  forward  lookout  called  out,  "Light  ho!"  It 
proved  to  be  the  long-looked-for  light  of  Recife,  and  the 
party  tarried  a  moment  to  determine  if  it  was  the  fixed  or 
revolving  light  that  was  seen. 

Nellie  waited  to  receive  her  dose  of  cactus,  though  the 
symptom  that  had  called  for  it  was  gone ;  cured  by  a 
greater  alchemic  than  drugs.  Yet  it  was  a  laudable  ex 
cuse  to  repeat  her  pleasant  good-night,  while  she  peered 
roguishly  into  the  eyes  of  her  medical  friend  and 
brother.  Greeting  the  others  with  a  pleasant  message  to 
each,  she  retired  with  Miss  Allston  to  her  berth  below. 

It  was  Braybrook's  watch  out.  As  the  captain  ex 
pressed  some  anxiety  owing  to  the  ship's  being  near  in  to 
the  land,  Raymond  offered  to  stay  up  if  the  captain  would 
go  to  bed.  This  was  satisfactory,  and  the  two  officers 
walked  the  quarter-deck,  chatting  pleasantly.  Occasion 
ally  they  would  extend  their  beat  into  the  waist,  to  verify 
the  leadsman's  soundings,  and  take  new  bearings  of  the 
two  lights  on  the  Island  which  forms  the  harbor  of  Recife. 

At  one  o'clock  all  hands  were  called.  The  ship  com 
pleted  her  bearings  by  the  Olinda  light  and  the  Recife 
light-tower ;  then  sails  were  clewed  up,  the  anchor  let  go, 


Anchored  at  Recife.  347 

and  the  ship  rode  almost  motionless  in  the  open  road 
stead  of  Pernambuco.  Not  till  the  sails  were  all  furled, 
and  everything  made  snug  about  deck,  did  Raymond  seek 
his  cot,  which  the  steward  had  slung  for  him  three  hours 
before  in  the  main  cabin. 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

THE    PARTING   AT    PERNAMBUCO. 

A  T  early  morning  the  health  officer  and  the  custom-house 
officials  came  off  to  the  ship.  The  first  dignitary  was 
induced  to  leave  a  "clean  bill  of  health,"  by  which  the 
captain  would  be  permitted  to  land.  The  custom  officer 
scrutinized  the  ship's  manifest  with  a  view  to  learn  what 
things  there  were  on  board  which  might  possibly  be 
smuggled  ashore.  These  watch-dogs  of  the  Portuguese 
revenue  are  a  nondescript  set,  who  are  not  willing  that 
any  one  shall  cheat  their  government  but  themselves. 

The  guard-boats,  in  the  harbor,  and  the  custom  officers, 
at  the  wharf,  are  equally  watchful  that  you  do  not  smuggle 
off  your  honest  purchases  from  the  shore  without  paying 
an  enormous  export-tax,  be  it  only  a  bunch  of  feather 
flowers,  or  a  monkey.  Thus,  all  should  be  warned  not  to 
stow  contraband  things  under  the  stern  when  passing  the 
guard-boat,  as  such  an  innocent  undertaking  often  costs 
more  than  the  value  of  the  things  you  try  to  run  through. 

But  if  sin  of  this  nature  lurks  in  you  big  as  a  meeting 
house,  here  are  an  adept  old  smuggler's  directions :  "  Try 
to  look  sort  of  meek-like,  and  honest  as  skim-milk,  a  few 
times  while  passing  the  guard-boat.  Go  square  up  along 
side  of  their  boat  each  time  you  pass  it,  and  be  rather 
insistent  that  the  officer  shall  see  you  display  all  the 

348 


Rowing  Ashore.  349 

coats  and  wraps  under  the  bow  and  stern  cuddies,  and 
give  the  chief  imp  a  good  cigar  in  pay  for  a  light  every  time 
you  stop.  Very  soon  they  one  and  all  come  to  recognize 
you  as  a  person  of  such  remarkable  integrity  that  butter 
wouldn't  melt  in  your  mouth,  and  smuggled  goods  would 
lie  heavy  on  your  conscience.  Such  honesty  reflects 
seriously  upon  a  guardsman,  and  ever  after  your  boat  is 
waved  away  as  you  approach,  and  bid  to  '  Pass  on ! ' 
Now  then,  mister,  the  next  passage  you  make  past  that 
guard-boat,  '  Qo  in  lemons,  if  you  come  out  squeezed!' 
and  make  a  haul  that  will  do  to  tell  of  for  all  after  years." 

It  had  been  agreed  upon  by  the  captain  and  Mr.  Law 
rence  that  the  cabin  party  should  go  to  a  hotel  for  two 
days,  during  which  time  the  ship  could  take  aboard  her 
water  and  fresh  provisions  for  the  Cape  Horn  passage. 
After  breakfast  two  of  the  ship's  boats  were  got  ready  to 
take  the  shore  party  into  the  harbor.  A  seat  for  three 
was  placed  in  the  stern,  cushioned  with  gay-colored  flags, 
and  made  comfortable  for  the  two  miles'  pull  to  the  land 
ing. 

Captain  Talbert  took  his  wife,  Miss  Allston,  and  the  little 
girl  in  his  boat.  The  mate  carried  Mr.  Lawrence  and 
Miss  Nellie  in  the  larboard  boat ;  and  as  Raymond  would 
remain  ashore  with  his  party,  Hoogley  steered  the  boat ; 
so  that  Nellie  had  the  pleasure  of  sitting  between  her 
father  and  brother  during  the  long  pull.  The  two  boats 
sped  gayly  along  over  the  green  water,  aided  by  a  free 
wind  and  a  flowing  sea ;  and  in  about  half  an  hour  they 
rounded  the  rocky  point  of  San  Antonio,  the  island  where 
stands  the  Tower  of  Recife. 

The    delay  at   the   guard-boat   was   brief.      The    long, 


3  SO  The  Fie  diving. 

narrow  harbor  was  well  occupied  with  foreign  shipping, 
busily  loading  and  discharging  cargoes ;  through  these 
and  the  passing  lighters  the  ship's  boats  picked  their  way 
to  the  wharf,  where  fairly  good  steps  were  found  for  land 
ing.  The  party  walked  to  the  hotel,  which  fronted  the 
quay,  and  was  not  far  from  the  wharf.  By  some  process 
of  natural  affinity,  Miss  Nellie  fastened  to  Raymond's 
arm,  and,  with  the  art  of  a  courtier,  invited  her  father  to 
escort  Miss  Allston  ;  and  in  this  order  they  followed  after 
the  captain,  wife,  and  child. 

Soon  as  they  were  all  snugly  established  at  the  hotel,  with 
rooms  allotted  to  each,  Mr.  Lawrence  at  once  took  it  upon 
himself  to  entertain  the  ship's  party  as  his  guests.  An 
elaborate  shore-breakfast  was  ordered  at  ten  o'clock  for  a 
party  of  nine.  The  American  Consul,  and  Don  Manuel, 
the  Portuguese  consignee  of  the  Boston  house  of  Lawrence 
Brothers,  had  been  invited  to  attend ;  a  note  of  invitation 
and  urgent  business  inducements  had  been  sent  to  these 
foreign  residents  by  the  health  officer. 

Mr.  Lawrence's  visitors  came  promptly  ;  in  time  for  a  gen 
eral  introduction  all  around,  and  a  word  of  congratulation 
to  be  said  and  received  about  their  sad  wreck  and  singular 
escape,  before  the  call  came  for  breakfast.  While  eating, 
a  brief  story  of  the  shipwreck  was  related  by  Mr.  Law 
rence,  which  took  up  the  meal-time  hour.  Captain  Talbert 
and  the  mate  promised  to  narrate  their  part  of  the  affair 
in  the  evening,  as  time  pressed  for  business  purposes. 

After  breakfast,  the  host  detained  Don  Manuel  on 
mercantile  and  legal  business  —  a  lawyer  just  then 
coming  in.  Captain  Talbert  and  the  consul  went  to  the 
consulate  to  enter  the  ship  and  transact  other  ship  affairs. 


Nellie  and  the  Mate.  35 1 

Raymond  went  to  the  harbor-master's  to  order  out  a  water- 
boat  to  replenish  the  Fleetwing's  casks;  thence  to  the 
market,  where  he  met  the  captain,  and  the  two  selected 
potatoes,  fruits,  fowls,  pigs,  and  a  plump  bit  of  two-year- 
old  live  stock,  to  carry  on  the  legs  till  they  were  ready  to 
kill,  down  in  the  forties. 

Dinner  had  been  agreed  upon  at  six.  This  left  a  long 
day  for  business  and  pastime.  When  the  captain  had 
helped  along  the  marketing,  he  returned  to  the  hotel ;  for 
he  had  promised  to  escort  the  ladies  on  a  shopping  cruise, 
where  they  could  inspect  monkeys,  parrots,  feather  flowers, 
and  all  sorts  of  foreign  bric-a-brac,  such  as  feminine 
creatures  adore  —  their  admiration  scaling  up-along  accord 
ing  to  the  extravagant  price  of  the  article. 

Raymond  was  left  to  look  up  a  lighter  which  would 
take  aboard  the  purchases  of  all  kinds  early  in  the  morn 
ing.  After  this  he  returned  to  the  hotel,  at  about  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Nellie  was  watching  his  return 
from  the  corridor,  and  ran  in  to  meet  him  at  the  head  of 
the  stairs.  The  young  lady  was  in  high  glee  at  having 
her  new  brother  all  to  herself ;  the  other  ladies  being 
absent,  and  her  father  busy  with  his  consignee  and  lawyer. 

"  Where's  your  father,  Miss  Nellie  ?  " 

"  He's  with  the  foreigners.  They  are  making  papers 
which  you  must  promise  to  sign."  And  she  looked  archly 
at  the  mate  for  reply. 

"  Oh,  yes,  if  it  will  please  my  new  friends." 

"Then  I  shall  feel  sure  that  you  are  pa's  dear  son  and 
somebody's  own  precious  brother." 

The  girl's  eyes  were  sparkling  with  affectionate  merri 
ment,  while  her  flute-like  tones  seemed  caught  from  the 


352  TJic  Fleetiving. 

leashed  mocking-bird  singing  from  his  perch  on  the  corri 
dor.  She  seated  Raymond  at  an  open  window,  and  occu 
pied  an  ottoman  at  his  feet ;  there  she  sat  holding  his 
hand  between  her  dimpled  fingers,  a  variety  of  emotions 
flitting  over  her  face  as  she  peered  fondly  into  his  eyes 
and  asked  countless  questions.  The  graceful  creature 
seemed  intent  upon  garnering  as  much  of  Raymond's 
presence  as  she  could  during  the  absence  of  the  party.  A 
tiny  shadow  followed  this  happy  mood,  with  a  sigh  so  pro 
found  as  to  attract  her  companion. 

"  Why,  Nellie,  what  are'  you  thinking  of,  to  look  so 
solemn  and  sad,  and  sigh  such  a  nor'west  breeze  as  that  ? " 
Seeking  to  expel  every  morbid  thought  from  the  girl's 
mind. 

"  Oh,  Raymond,  you  grow  dearer  and  dearer  to  me 
every  minute.  And  the  dreadful  thought  that  you  will 
insist  upon  going  to  sea  keeps  intruding  upon  me,  when  it 
would  be  so  much  better  for  all  if  you  would  go  home 
with  us." 

"  But  that's  tabu  talk,  you  know,  Nellie.  You  are  much 
too  brave  and  sensible  to  give  way  to  such  feelings,  my 
little  sister,"  and  he  looked  a  trifle  sober,  to  impress  what 
he  said. 

"  Do  you  really  think  I  am  brave,  Raymond  ?  " 

"The  bravest  girl  that  I  ever  knew.  Few  could  have 
borne  up  as  you  did  on  the  wreck.  It  is  a  picture  of  hero 
ism  which  I  love  to  contemplate." 

And  Raymond  stroked  one  of  the  dainty  little  hands 
which  lay  in  his,  in  a  reverie,  as  his  mind  wandered  back 
to  the  wreck.  The  girl's  eyes  dimmed  with  pleasurable 
tears  as  she  listened  to  his  unstinted  praise  —  more  than 


The  Pretty  Ninny.  353 

his  guarded  tongue  had  ever  uttered  before.  She  pressed 
her  lips  to  his  hand,  and  murmured  a  low  blessing  upon 
his  head,  as  with  quivering  lips  she  renewed  her  query. 

"And  sensible,  too,  my  precious  brother?"  and  her 
heart  was  in  her  mouth  as  she  awaited  his  reply. 

"  Why,  certainly  you  are,  you  pretty  little  Ninny ! 
What  makes  you  ask  ? " 

"  Ah,  dear  Raymond,  I  was  truly  afraid  you  might 
think  me  silly  and  foolish  ;  and  not  quite  worth  having  as 
a  sister."  And  the  little  minx  puckered  up  her  lips  and 
looked  demure  as  she  continued :  "  And  am  I  a  pretty 
Ninny,  too  ?  " 

"  Did  I  say  that  ?  " 

"  Yes,  you  did,  and  I  don't  see  how  you  can  go  back 
on  it." 

"  Let  it  stand,  then,  imperishable  as  fate  !  "  and  the  two* 
sat  smiling  at  each  other.  However,  the  topic  was  too 
pleasant  to  be  dropped. 

"  Come,  dear  brother,  tell  me  some  more  sterling  quali 
ties  that  I  possess,"  and  the  look  was  earnest,  deep- 
freighted  with  a  wish  to  know  in  what  category  Raymond 
placed  her. 

"Well,  then,  my  little  sister,  I'll  tell  you  truly:  I  think 
you  are  a  nice  girl  in  so  many  ways  that,  honestly,  Nellie, 
I'm  not  a  bit  sorry  that  I  saved  you." 

This  raillery  brought  the  little  witch  promptly  back  to 
her  merry  mood  again.  In  the  midst  of  her  peals  of 
laughter,  the  ladies  came  in  upon  them,  glad  to  find  the 
moping  girl  in  better  spirits  than  when  they  left  her. 

Mr.  Lawrence  and  his  associates  soon  came  out.  Don 
Manuel  and  the  legal  gentleman  left,  to  return  again  in 


354  The  Flcctwing. 

the  evening.  As  the  dinner-hour  drew  near,  the  ladies 
went  to  their  rooms  to  prepare.  The  gong  soon  sounded, 
and  the  evening  meal  was  a  source  of  great  pleasure  to 
them  all.  Mr.  Lawrence  related  that,  beside  having  the 
indenture  made  to  take  Raymond  into  his  family,  he  had 
taken  the  occasion  to  transact  considerable  mercantile 
business,  as  the  English  steamer  was  expected  in  a  few 
days,  upon  which  they  should  embark,  in  fear  of  having 
to  wait  too  long  for  some  direct  passage  home. 

By  preconcerted  appointment,  the  consul  and  Don 
Manuel  came  in  during  the  evening.  Captain  Talbert 
and  Raymond  were  asked  into  the  private  room,  where 
Mr.  Lawrence  announced  the  business.  He  declared  his 
wish  to  adopt  the  mate  of  the  Fleetwing,  under  the  style 
of  Charles  Raymond  Lawrence,  with  the  understanding 
that  the  name  Lawrence  was  left  optional,  to  be  used  or 
not,  during  the  present  voyage.  But  it  was  part  of  the 
indenture  that  the  full  name  should  be  permanently  as 
sumed  when  the  mate  returned  home,  before  entering 
upon  his  newly  acquired  patrimony. 

The  consul  was  asked  to  read  the  document  for  the 
benefit  of  all  present;  the  witnesses,  as  well  as  the  signa 
tory  members  of  the  duplicate  indenture.  When  the 
reading  was  over,  and  a  general  approval  expressed  as  to 
its  construction,  Mr.  Lawrence  and  Raymond  drew  up  to 
the  table  and  signed  the  indentures,  which  were  witnessed 
by  the  consul,  the  consignee,  and  Captain  Talbert. 

While  Raymond  was  receiving  congratulations  for  this 
deserved  reward  of  his  brave  act,  Mr.  Lawrence  asked  the 
consignee  if  he  had  filled  out  the  other  papers  required. 
Don  Manuel  replied  by  producing  two  sets  of  exchange, 


The  Generous  Patrimony.  355 

each  in  three  duplicates.  The  first  was  exchange  for 
$25,000,  drawn  in  favor  of  Charles  R.  Lawrence,  payable  at 
the  Bank  of  North  America,  Boston,  U.  S.  The  second  ex 
change,  for  $1000,  was  drawn  in  favor  of  John  Kanaka,  on 
the  same  bank.  This  last  was  delivered  to  Captain  Tal- 
bert,  to  be  disposed  of  by  him  as  the  boat-steerer  wished. 

It  was  with  a  just  degree  of  pride  that  Charles  Law 
rence  clasped  the  hand  of  his  new  father,  and  modestly 
accepted  the  generous  sum  given  him  as  the  first  honora 
rium  of  the  princely  fortune  that  awaited  him. 

Taking  his  son's  arm,  Mr.  Lawrence  invited  the  gentle 
men  to  pass  into  the  drawing-room,  where  the  pleased  old 
merchant  presented  Charles  as  his  legally  adopted  son. 

The  ladies  sprang  up  to  come  forward  and  greet  the 
young  hero  ;  but  while  two  of  them  advanced  and  con-^ 
gratulated  him  with  pride  and  pleasure  in  his  success. 
Miss  Lawrence  dropped  back  into  her  chair,  sobbing 
aloud  with  joy,  while  she  hid  her  face  in  her  hands,  pow 
erless  to  leave  her  seat.  Having  received  the  friendly 
greetings  of  Mrs.  Talbert  and  Miss  Allston,  Raymond 
hastily  crossed  to  where  Nellie  sat,  and  spoke  as  he  ap 
proached  her :  — 

"  Has  my  little  sister  Nellie  no  pleasant  word  for  her 
new  brother — Charles  Lawrence?"  and  he  reached  out 
and  drew  her  hands  gently  from  her  tear-stained  face. 
Smiling  through  her  tears,  Nellie  sprang  up  and  put  her 
arms  about  his  neck,  sobbing  louder  than  ever  upon  the 
bosom  of  this  much-loved  friend.  The  girl's  joy  nearly 
induced  hysteria  at  this  happy  consummation  of  her 
wishes. 

Gaining  command  of  herself  in  a  few  minutes,  Miss 


356  The  Fleetwing. 

Lawrence  looked  brightly  up,  dashed  the  tears  from  her 
eyes,  brushed  the  dark  ringlets  from  her  face,  and  took 
Raymond's  arm  to  go  and  thank  her  father  for  what  he 
had  done  ;  also  desiring  to  learn  if  the  moneyed  part  of  the 
business  had  been  accomplished.  This  being  found  to 
her  satisfaction,  the  two  joined  Captain  Talbert  and  the 
ladies,  leaving  Mr.  Lawrence  to  transact  further  business 
with  the  Recife  gentlemen. 

Putting  on  their  wraps,  the  ladies  expressed  a  wish  to 
walk  out  on  the  corridor  for  a  breath  of  evening  air.  In 
addition  to  the  two  lighthouses,  the  harbor  was  then 
prettily  dotted  with  the  blue,  red,  and  white  lights  of  the 
shipping  and  the  guard-boats.  The  bands  of  two  naval 
vessels  were  entertaining,  each  playing,  by  turns,  the  na 
tional  airs  of  the  other,  the  sad  strains  acquiring  an  added 
charm  from  the  interval  of  water  which  rippled  between 
them  and  the  shore. 

When  the  bands  ceased  playing,  a  fine  tenor  voice  burst 
forth,  pleading  the  beauty  of  his  far-away  love,  in  Spanish 
verse,  preluded  and  accompanied  by  a  guitar.  This  love- 
ditty  was  soon  answered  from  a  Portuguese  vessel,  by  a 
girl'  s  strong,  clear  contralto,  sung  in  strains  sufficiently 
correct  and  sweet  to  hush  every  other  note  within  hearing. 
Several  times  these  two  rich,  rare  voices  responded  to 
each  other,  till  every  loving  heart  in  the  haven  was  at 
tuned  to  the  all-pervading  sentiment  which  the  singers  had 
advocated  so  well. 

Our  party  had  clustered  into  a  compact  group  to  listen 
to  the  singing.  As  they  sat  leaning  over  the  balustrade, 
with  ears  alert  to  catch  every  note  of  the  songs,  almost 
unknowingly  Nellie  nestled  closer  and  closer  to  her  pre- 


Nellie  s  Confession.  357 

cious  brother,  quite  unconsciously  stealing  her  little  hand 
into  his,  sighing  from  the  very  depths  of  her  being  at  the 
close  of  each  song.  So  tumultuous  was  the  girl's  heart 
beat  against  his  side,  that  Raymond's  strong,  steady  pul 
sation  went  a  deal  out  of  its  usual  course  to  beat  in  the 
same  delicious  rhythm  as  the  lovable  creature's  by  his 
side.  So  much  were  the  hearts  of  the  young  people  in 
unison,  at  that  moment,  that  by  some  unaccountable  con 
cert  of  movement  the  cheeks  of  the  two  were  found 
nestled  lovingly  together,  purring  verily  like  two  kittens 
in  a  mew. 

When  the  final  pause  of  singing  came,  one  by  one  the 
company  aroused.  And  as  Mr.  Lawrence  came  out  at  that 
moment,  Miss  Allston  sprang  up  and  took  his  arm  for  a 
walk  on  the  long  length  of  the  corridor,  the  poor  girl 
being  the  only  one  who  was  not  paired  during  that 
delicious  trance  of  songs.  The  Talberts  followed  suit. 
And  Raymond  and  Nellie  could  do  no  less  than  start  up 
and  follow  in  the  wake  of  the  others,  though  they  were  fast 
becoming  steeped  in  blissful  emotions,  where  locomotion 
soon  comes  to  be  a  forgotten  evolution. 

After  they  had  walked  back  and  forth  frequently,  prat 
tling  volubly  about  the  novelty  of  the  sights  and  sounds 
about  them,  Miss  Lawrence  broke  the  momentary  pause 
by  an  unexpected  announcement,  which  brought  all  to  a 
sudden  halt. 

"  Now,  stop,  good  friends,  right  here.  I  am  just  going 
to  confess  my  sins  of  the  day  to  all  present.  I  do  it  in 
fear  that  I  sha'n't  sleep  a  wink  to-night,  if  I  don't  free  my 
wicked  heart  of  its  burden." 

A   half-suppressed    titter    rippled    among    the    ladies, 


358  The  Fleetwing. 

more  substantially  chorused  by  a  light  laugh  from  Mr. 
Lawrence,  and  a  subdued  guffaw  from  the  captain,  at  this 
honest  announcement. 

"  It's  truly  no  laughing-matter  for  me.  Brother  Ray 
mond  has  been  pointing  out  the  lights  of  the  dear  old 
Fleetwing,  far  away  yonder  in  the  seaward  background, 
where  she  lifts  and  lowers  in  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  swell, 
as  if  signalling  to  me,  with  her  green  and  red  fingers  of 
flame,  to  abjure  all  naughty  thoughts  about  her."  She- 
paused  as  if  the  enormity  of  her  sin  had  deprived  her  of 
speech. 

"  Well,  my  child,  we've  got  the  text  of  your  confession  : 
now  let  us  have  the  terrible  context,"  said  her  father. 

"  Oh,  pa,  I  have  wished  more  than  once  to-day  that 
something  awful  might  happen  to  the  Fleetwing,  so  that 
she  could  not  carry  any  of  these  dear  friends  away  from 
us.  Then  we  would  all  go  home  together.  But  now  that 
I  have  become  so  happy  with  this  dear  new  brother  at  my 
side,  I  am  horrified  at  my  dreadful  wishes,  and  have  repeat 
edly  asked  to  be  forgiven  for  such  unheard-of  selfishness." 

"  Let  your  repentance  be  very  thorough,  my  daughter, 
for  it  was  indeed  a  wicked  thought." 

"  Indeed,  pa,  it  was.  When  I  now  look  upon  the  lights 
of  that  beautiful  ship,  out  on  the  dark  sea,  I  realize  that 
she  is  as  dear  to  me  as  to  any  of  you  •  and  I  would  not 
have  her  destroyed  for  the  world.  Especially  as  these 
dear  friends,  and  this  precious  brother,  are  to  trust  their 
lives  in  her." 

"Yes,  Nellie,"  replied  her  father,  "it  was  through  a 
most  wonderful  providence  that  God  sent  the  Fleetwing 
to  our  rescue." 


Raymond's  Confession.  359 

"That's  about  so,  Mr.  Lawrence,"  added  the  captain. 
"  But  for  that  confounded  eastern  back-drift  which  caught 
us  in  its  grip,  north  of  the  Line,  —  something  which  never 
happened  to  me  before,  —  the  ship  would  have  passed  one 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  to  the  west  of  St.  Paul,  and  you 
would  have  been  left  to  starve.  And  we  shall  all  remem 
ber  that  it  was  this  impulsive  young  mate  of  mine  who 
tried  to  burn  up  his  little  sister  by  a  gun-wad." 

Instantly  two  little  arms  were  about  somebody's  neck, 
with  a  possible  design  of  strangulation.  And  Raymond 
was  in  turn  brought  before  the  confessional  by  Nellie's 
question  :  — 

"You  didn't  fire  that  wad  on  purpose,  did  you,  dear?" 
"Yes,  I'm  afraid  I  did,  for  I  put  it  into  the  gun  myself." 
"But  you  didn't  mean  to  burn  up  your  little  sister?" 
"  If  I  did,  I  repented,  just  as  you  have  done.     But  that 
singular  fire  was  the  most  providential  part  of  the  rescue." 
"  If  you  have  no  objection,  Captain  Talbert,"  said  Mr. 
Lawrence,  "  I  wish  we    might    all    meet  in  prayer  a  few 
•  minutes  before  we  retire  to-night.     My  heart    is    so  full 
toward  you  all  that  I  would  like   to  express  my  feeling 
upon  this  our  last  night  together.     This  is  my  daughter's 
suggestion,  and  it  has  my  hearty  approval." 

"  There  is  no  reason  why  your  wishes  should  not  be 
adopted,"  replied  Captain  Talbert,  who,  though  he  never 
held  services  on  shipboard  as  Small  did,  was  often  relig 
iously  inclined. 

It  was  nearly  twelve  o'clock  when  they  went  into  the 
drawing-room,  from  whence  they  assembled  in  the  small 
private  parlor  for  prayer.  It  was  a  devout  group  that 
knelt  about  the  venerable  old  patriarch  at  that  midnight 


360   '  The  Fleetwing. 

hour,  while  he  poured  forth  his  heartfelt  gratitude  to  the 
Heavenly  Father ;  calling  down  Heaven's  blessings  upon 
the  beautiful  ship,  which  by  God's  own  guidance  came  to 
their  rescue. 

He  prayed  for  her  venerable  captain,  who  had  opened 
up  his  heart  like  a  brother  to  receive  them  in  their 
distress ;  for  the  dear  wife  and  lady  passenger,  who 
had  been  as  loving  sisters  unto  her  who  was  as  the 
apple  of  his  eye  and  the  core  of  his  heart ;  for  which 
he  must  continue  their  debtor  through  his  brief  span  of 
life. 

He  prayed  with  a  full  heart  for  all  the  officers  and  crew 
of  that  dear  ship ;  men  who  gladly  drew  them  out  from 
the  devouring  breakers,  and  wept  with  joy  at  their  rescue. 
Above  all  he  pleaded  with  the  Almighty  for  that  one  noble 
soul,  —  the  bravest  where  all  were  brave,  the  noblest  where 
all  were  heroes,  —  he  who  felt  the  Father's  hand  had 
appointed  unto  him  the  task  of  peril  in  that  hour.  But 
for  whom,  death  by  the  slow  torture  of  fire  had  been 
their  lot.  He  prayed  God  to  watch  over  that  young  life, 
as  one  too  precious  to  be  lost ;  even  though  he  toyed  with 
the  dangers  of  his  vocation,  as  a  child  with  fire,  dazzled 
by  its  brightness  and  its  beauty. 

It  was  an  appeal  which  went  home  to  the  hearts  of  all. 
Most  especially  was  it  of  value  to  Captain  Talbert,  — 
noble  old  sea-dog  that  he  was,  —  for  his  sailor  supersti 
tions  were  as  thoroughly  aroused  as  Tom  Crawford's  or 
old  Ben's.  Arguing  as  those  veterans  continued  to  do : 
Had  they  not  snatched  two  beings  from  grim  Death's  very 
grasp ;  and  as  Satan  is  believed  by  all  honest  tars  to  be 
ever  leagued  with  Death,  was  it  not  probable  that  old  Nick 


The  Devil's  Setback.  361 

would  track  the  ship  with  ill-luck,  if  not  dire  disaster,  to 
the  end  of  the  voyage  ? 

Harboring  such  deep-grounded  delusions  in  common 
with  his  veritable  old  shellbacks,  there  was  wonderful 
efficacy  in  the  pious  outpourings  of  such  a  man  as  Mr. 
Lawrence.  And  it  was  the  captain's  earnest  belief  — 
though  confessed  with  bated  breath  —  that  the  devil  had 
got  a  thundering  setback,  which  might  possibly  last 
through  the  voyage.  And  the  old  man  sailed  away,  on  the 
following  day,  with  a  lighter  heart  than  he  came  in  with. 

Before  separating  for  the  night,  Mr.  Lawrence  shook 
hands,  with  kind  wishes  expressed  to  all.  Nellie  came 
round  and  kissed  the  captain,  after  parting  with  the  ladies, 
reserving  Raymond  for  the  last.  To  him  she  gave  a 
double  share  of  good  nights,  saluting  him  on  both  cheeks, 
and  then  affectionately  put  up  her  small  red  lips  for  a 
sister's  just  recompense.  Raymond  complied  with  the 
pantomimic  request  of  the  witching  girl,  but  with  a  deal 
more  trepidation  than  he  ever  felt  when  tackling  a  fighting 
whale.  Bewildered  with  her  success,  Nellie  ran  to  her 
father,  caught  his  arm,  and  hastened  him  away  in  the 
direction  of  their  sleeping-rooms. 

It  had  been  determined  that  breakfast  should  be  at 
nine,  in  consideration  of  the  ladies  wishing  to  do  more 
shopping.  Raymond  was  up  at  six,  ordering  his  lighter 
round  to  the  market-quay,  ready  for  her  load.  Before 
nine,  the  vessel  was  on  her  way  out  by  the  Olinda  passage, 
in  time  for  the  last  run  of  the  northern  tide.  The  tides  at 
Recife  run  north  and  south,  with  great  force,  inside  of  the 
island  harbor. 

When  Raymond  returned  to  the  hotel,  the  whole  party 


362  The  Flectwing. 

were  out  on  the  corridor  watching  for  him,  and  he  re 
ceived  his  sister's  greeting  manfully.  Leading  her  back 
to  the  corridor,  he  pointed  out  his  lighter,  then  rounding 
the  Recife  Tower  on  its  way  to  the  ship,  as  a  result  of  his 
early  rising.  But  what  to  make  of  a  second  lighter  going 
out  side  by  side  with  his,  neither  the  captain  nor  the  mate 
could  understand  ;  as  the  Fleetwing  was  the  only  ship 
then  lying  in  the  roadstead. 

A  call  from  the  gong  paired  them  off  for  breakfast, 
Nellie  clinging  fast  to  her  brother.  After  a  prolonged 
and  pleasant  meal,  the  two  ladies  laid  their  embargo  on 
the  captain's  going  out,  requesting  his  escort  while  they 
finished  their  purchases.  Nellie  was  urged  to  go  with 
them,  but  declined  with  thanks.  Though  sadly  in  need  of 
clothes,  she  preferred  to  continue  in  borrowed  wear  while 
Raymond  was  ashore.  The  two  went  out  on  the  corridor 
to  walk  in  the  bland  morning  air,  for  though  it  was  past 
ten  o'clock,  the  trades  had  not  yet  struck  in. 

Captain  Talbert  agreed  to  go  with  the  ladies  if  Ray 
mond  would  go  and  settle  the  port-dues,  consul's  fees,  and 
the  provision-bills  at  the  consignee's.  He  wished  to  be 
ready  to  leave  when  the  boat  came  in,  at  four  o'clock. 
Miss  Lawrence  entered  a  strong  protest  against  this 
arrangement ;  she  declared  that  her  brother  had  accom 
plished  a  good  day's  work  before  breakfast,  and  should 
now  be  left  with  her  father  and  herself  to  the  last  moment. 

Mr.  Lawrence  now  came  to  the  rescue,  saying  that  he 
had  agreed  with  the  several  creditors  to  pay  all  dues 
against  the  ship.  Captain  Talbert  demurred  at  this  too 
generous  act,  and  declared  that  he  could  not  receive  any 
thing  in  the  way  of  compensation  for  their  brief  stay  on 


Reward  for  Deserter.  363 

shipboard ;  as  a  sailor  never  accepts  remuneration  from  a 
wrecked  shipmate,  without  mentioning  the  superstition 
connected  with  it. 

"  Yes,  yes,  captain,"  replied  the  old  merchant,  "  this 
matter  has  been  all  talked  over  between  us.  No  need  to 
view  this  in  the  light  of  payment  for  any  service  of  yours. 
It  is  a  present  to  the  ship;  as  the  fruits,  etc.,  in  the  small 
lighter  are  presents  from  Nellie  and  me  to  the  officers  and 
crew  of  the  dear  old  Fleetwing." 

"  Oh  ho  !  That's  what  the  second  lighter  was  up  to,  is 
it  ?  Well,  well,  sir,  you  manage  things  a  little  too  smart 
for  a  sailor-man  to  head  you  off."  The  Captain  caught  up 
the  glass  and  levelled  it  at  the  ship.  "  Yes,  there're  two 
lighters  'longside,  true  as  Moses.  Well,  Mr.  Lawrence,  I 
tender  many  thanks  in  the  name  of  the  ship,  captain  and 
crew.  I  suppose  my  lost  son  will  do  the  proper  thing  for 
the  officers." 

Captain  Talbert  prepared  to  leave  with  the  ladies,  first 
exchanging  roguish  glances  with  Miss  Lawrence,  who 
stood  holding  fast  to  the  mate  in  fear  he  might  be  smug 
gled  away.  Putting  his  head  back  through  the  door,  he 
said  his  last  word  :  — 

"Tell  ye  what,  little  Miss  Nellie,  I'm  going  to  take  a 
last  look  at  my  Charlie  'fore  I  go.  For  I've  known 
sailor  men  to  desert  ship  on  much  less  incentive  than  my 
boy  is  having  from  two  bright  eyes  that  I  know  of." 

Amidst  the  jolly  laughter  which  followed  this  pleasant 
banter,  Miss  Lawrence  hailed  down  from  the  corridor  as 
the  captain  appeared  on  the  street,  "What  reward  would 
you  olTcr  for  such  a  deserter,  captain  ?  " 

The  gallant  old  man  turned,  and  took  off  his  hat  as  he 


364  The  Fleetwirg. 

replied  to  the  flushed  young  girl:  "The  whole  ship  and 
cargo,  pretty  miss.  So  don't  you  think  to  steal  away  my 
mainstay  and  rudder,  till  the  voyage  is  over." 

"Oh,  sir,  that  reward  wouldn't  bring  him  back.  So 
you  had  best  look  your  last  upon  him  now."  The  captain 
laughed,  bowed,  and  followed  swaggering  along  in  the 
wake  of  the  ladies,  who  had  gone  ahead. 

Mr.  Lawrence  lay  reclining  in  a  lolling-chair,  enjoying 
his  freshly  imported  Havana,  and  taking  part  in  the  talk 
of  the  young  people  as  they  passed  him  while  walking 
forth  and  back  along  the  corridor.  While  watching  the 
busy  scenes  among  the  shipping,  the  two  lighters  were 
seen  entering  the  harbor,  coming  quickly  down  before  the 
strong  southern  tide.  In  an  hour  after,  Don  Manuel 
made  his  appearance,  bringing  Braybrook's  receipt  for 
two  lighter-loads,  giving  products  in  detail,  for  which  the 
consignee  brought  his  bill  against  the  ship.  This  Mr. 
Lawrence  acknowledged  on  account,  and  then  asked  the 
agent  to  go  and  settle  the  custom  dues  and  the  consul's 
fees,  which  he  was  also  to  carry  to  account. 

Three  o'clock  was  the  hour  agreed  upon  for  dinner. 
The  young  folks  had  hours  of  close,  confiding  talk,  in 
which  Nellie  asked  Raymond  to  tell  her  the  honest  state 
of  his  feelings  for  Mary  Tudor  —  whatever  that  might  be. 
And  she  as  honestly  told  him  the  captain  and  Mrs.  Talbert's 
belief  that  Mamie  would  not  be  permitted  to  wait  his  return. 
She  begged  him  to  fortify  himself  against  such  broken 
troth,  and  to  remember  that  there  were  others  who  would 
value  him  above  all  price,  as  the  best  and  noblest  on 
earth,  fortifying  her  last  conviction  by  the  aid  of  two  little 
arms  about  his  neck,  with  other  nameless  endearments, 


The  Sad  Parting.  365 

while     sorrowing     over    the    presupposed    treachery    of 
another   girl. 

The  ladies  carne  back  in  good  time  for  dinner,  and 
a  bright,  pleasant  hour  was  passed  over  the  meal. 
Promptly  at  four,  the  porter  announced  Hoogley  with  a 
boat  for  the  captain.  This  broke  up  the  delightful  table- 
chat  at  once.  The  trades  were  becoming  fresh,  and  the 
sea  running  large,  so  that  the  boat  would  have  a  hard  pull 
against  the  short  chop,  and  no  time  must  be  lost. 

Nellie's  beaming  face  blanched  in  an  instant  at  this  sud 
den  call  for  parting.  Tears  sprang  into  her  soft  eyes,  and 
her  lips  quivered  with  suppressed  emotion.  After  a  warm 
greeting  and  loving  words  all  around,  Mr.  Lawrence 
went  down  to  the  street  with  the  departing  friends,  leav 
ing  Nellie  a  moment's  privacy  with  her  brother. 

That  the  parting  was  pathetic  and  sad  between  the  two, 
could  only  be  judged  by  the  mate's  tears  and  unusual 
agitation  when  he  followed  down  after  the  party,  for 
Nellie's  grief  was  too  uncontrollable  for  her  to  appear  on 
the  corridor,  as  all  had  expected  she  would.  With  a 
warm  embrace  and  loving  words,  good  old  Mr.  Lawrence 
parted  with  his  newly  adopted  son,  as  if  he  was  his  first 
born,  and  best  loved.  And  it  was  a  sad  scene  for  all  who 
witnessed  the  separation. 

The  captain  and  wife,  Raymond  and  Miss  Allston 
paired  off  and  walked  briskly  to  the  wharf,  with  the  child 
running  ahead  with  a  tiny  King  Charles  that  Miss  Law 
rence  had  given  her.  The  boat  was  soon  headed  out 
with  the  northern  tide,  which  had  changed  in  good  time 
to  favor  the  passage  to  the  ship.  Mr.  Lawrence  waved 
his  hat  to  them  as  they  passed,  but  Nellie,  poor  girl,  was 


366  Tlie  Fleetwing. 

seen  by  them  no  more.  The  girl's  experience  during  the 
last  month  had  comprised  the  romance  of  a  lifetime. 

As  the  boat  neared  the  ship,  Captain  Talbert  waved  his 
hat  for  Braybrook  to  get  the  ship  under-weigh,  as  it  was 
becoming  more  and  more  diffcult  to  take  the  anchor 
against  the  increasing  wind.  Mr.  Bailey  was  aft  with  a 
gang  ready  to  hoist  up  the  boat,  with  the  ladies  and  child 
sitting  in  it. 

Raymond  went  forward  to  his  duty  on  the  bow,  greet 
ing  all  hands  kindly  as  he  passed,  and  shaking  hands  with 
Braybrook  with  great  cordiality ,  for  the  two  men  had 
long  since  become  the  best  of  friends.  In  a  half-hour's 
time  the  anchor  was  hove  up,  sail  made,  and  the  Fleet- 
wing  heading  south  for  Abrolhos  Banks,  their  next  sperm- 
whale  ground. 

When  tacks,  sheets,  and  braces  were  all  trim  and  taut, 
and  the  mettlesome  ship  began  to  prance  to  the  heavy 
ground-swell,  Charles  R.  Lawrence  went  aft  and  ran  the 
beautiful  ensign  up  and  down  at  the  peak,  as  a  sailor's  last 
greeting  to  his  venerable  father  and  his  darling  sister 
Nellie,  to  whom  he  had  become  far  more  attached  than  he 
knew  till  this  moment. 

Not  a  soul  on  board  but  thought  Mr.  Raymond  was 
unwise  in  his  decision  to  remain  in  the  ship ;  and  it  is 
most  likely  that  he  thought  so  himself,  just  then.  His 
real  motive  was  known  to  but  few.  His  resolution  to 
remain  greatly  endeared  him  to  his  shipmates.  More 
especially  was  his  rejection  of  high  social  position  appre 
ciated  by  his  dear  old  captain,  who  could  not  meet  his  young 
mate  for  days  after  without  tears  flooding  his  eyes.  He 
best  of  all  others  knew  why  his  young  officer  remained. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

BOUND    FOR    THE    ABROLHOS. 

A  FTER  leaving  the  anchorage  at  Recife,  the  wind  held 
strong  for  nearly  two  days.  The  ship  passed  Cape  St. 
Augustine  before  dark.  She  was  then,  kept  away  two 
points,  following  down  the  trend  of  the  coast  to  Bahia, 
which  port  she  passed  late  the  next  day.  Many  home 
ward  bound  vessels  were  here  met,  under  press  of  sail, 
dashing  northward  with  a  smother  of  foam  about  their 
bows. 

Numerous  other  vessels  were  bound  south ;  these  the 
Fleetwing  overhauled,  and  passed  with  ease.  One  was  a 
large  ocean  steamer,  under  press  of  steam  and  sail ;  her 
passengers  gathering  about  the  quarter-rail,  waving  hats 
and  handkerchiefs,  so  amazed  to  witness  the  ship  —  fleet 
and  beautiful  as  a  bird  on  the  wing.  This  auspicious 
event  caused  a  hilarious  time  among  the  Fleetwing's 
crew ;  and  much  was  it  needed,  in  their  present  morbid, 
moody  state  of  feeling. 

Meeting  a  full-sailed  ship  at  sea  is  always  a  pleasant 
incident  to  all  seagoing  mortals.  Though  the  meeting 
ships  may  pass  at  a  distance,  national  colors  are  run  up, 
and  displayed  for  a  moment ;  as  two  fiiends  lift  their  hats 
to  each  other  from  afar.  More  often  the  strange  ships 
approach  near  enough  to  exchange  reckonings;  then 

36? 


368  The  Fleetwing. 

each  chalks  his  longitude  on  the  gangway  board,  which  is 
deemed  a  graceful  sea-courtesy.  Parting,  the  captains 
wave  hands  politely,  and  sail  away  to  the  world's  end,  in 
opposite  directions. 

But,  alas !  when  a  ship  meets  with  broken  spars,  sloven 
boats,  and  dead  seamen  afloat  on  the  solitary  sea,  it  is  an 
ominous  event,  that  causes  long-lasting  horror  among  her 
crew.  The  worst  superstitions  of  the  most  impressible 
and  childish  crass  of  men  are  permanently  aroused. 
Though  sailors  commiserate  the  sufferings  of  their  class, 
and  are  charitable  to  the  last  cent  in  the  locker,  or  the 
last  shirt  from  the  back,  yet  they  shrink  from  witnessing 
death  and  disaster,  as  Satan  avoids  holy  water.  The 
simple  fellows  always  attribute  the  accident  which  wrecks 
a  vessel  to  some  supernatural  agency,  and  believe  that 
meddling  to  prevent  the  full  consummation  of  a  disaster 
will  surely  transfer  the  evil  'agency  upon  themselves  or 
their  ship. 

This  terrorized  condition  had  prevailed  among  the 
Fleetwing's  lucky  and  well  disciplined  crew  since  they 
witnessed  the  gigantic  horror  at  St.  Paul,  which  event  was 
the  forecastle  talk  for  many  a  week  after.  The  chief 
problem  that  the  croakers  now  sought  to  solve  was : 
Through  what  evil  agency  would  disaster  come  to  their 
ship? 

Some  deemed  that  there  might  be  a  Jonah  among  the 
crew,  who  should  be  sought  out  by  some  fiery  ordeal,  and 
harried  for  the  good  of  his  soul.  Others  thought  there 
were  too  many  cats  on  board  to  expect  that  their  ship 
would  escape  wreck  ;  puss  having  littered  since  leaving 
the  Azores.  These  argued  that  a  petition  ought  to  be 


TJic  Superstitions  Sailors.  369 

sent  aft  to  the  captain,  humbly  asking  to  have  all  but  the 
lucky  number  of  one  or  three  cats  drowned  in  the  deep 
sea.  These  catists  were  easily  quelled  by  their  opponents 
declaring  that  the  petitioners  should  drown  the  beasts ; 
which  they  would  not  have  done  for  the  world.  A  few 
other  cowardly  snivellers  declared  that  some  of  the  ship's 
timbers  had  been  "  cut  on  a  Sunday,"  and  that,  in  spite  of 
all  the  fine  qualities  of  their  loved  craft,  judgment  would 
overtake  her  before  the  voyage  was  over. 

But  the  most  serious  of  all  these  fanatic  delusions  came 
from  a  small  minority  of  the  best  seamen  in  the  ship. 
These  professed  to  have  known  from  the  day  of  sailing 
that  Joe  Bailey  was  leagued  with  Satan  ;  adding,  with  a 
furtive  glance,  and  in  a  sepulchral  voice  :  "  Death  and 
wrecks  will  follow  that  durned  one-eyed  niggar  wherever 
he  goes." 

These  loquacious  shellbacks  declared,  with  most  per 
suasive  eloquence,  that  they  had  looked  for  some  terrible 
mishap  to  the  Fleetwing  ;  and  that  nothing  but  their  saga 
cious  watchfulness  had  saved  the  ship  so  far.  Chief 
among  these  nautical  boobies  were  brave  Tom  Crawford, 
spoony  old  Ben,  spook-seeing  Nantucket  Jim,  and  burly 
Bill  Brown,  the  English  blood-and-thunder  croaker,  who 
growled  because  of  too  much  duff  and  salt  horse  as 
heartily  as  another  might  over  starvation  rations. 

During  the  ship's  first  evening  on  the  Abrolhos  Bank, 
the  wind  fell  light.  The  air  was  warm  and  pleasant  on 
deck,  but  within  the  cabin  it  had  become  sultry  and  op 
pressive.  The  light  breeze  did  not  prevent  the  ship's 
rolling  gently  to  the  long,  low  undulation  that  ran  under 
her  keel  and  awoke  discordant  creakings  from  bulkheads 


370  TJie  Flsetwing. 

and  partitions.  Her  roll  imparted  a  slow,  lazy  swing  to 
the  brazen  lamp  hanging  in  the  skylight  of  the  main 
cabin  ,  just  enough  motion  to  invoke  life  into  the  indolent 
shadow  of  every  suspended  thing  ;  until  strange,  uncouth- 
looking  objects  flitted  in  and  out  under  the  table,  upon 
which  most  uncanny  transactions  were  taking  place,  suffi 
cient  to  call  forth  the  ghostly  shapes  seen  creeping  stealth 
ily  about  among  the  sea-chests  and  chairs. 

Captain  Talbert  and  his  weird  old  companion  had  for 
hours  held  possession  of  the  dining-table  ;  so  absorbed  in 
supernatural  doings  as  to  be  oblivious  to  all  else.  Joe 
Bailey,  the  black  prophet,  was  at  work  conjuring  up 
whales  from  every  ocean ;  using  a  kind  of  necromancy 
that  makes  one  shudder  to  contemplate.  Both  men  were 
grizzled  with  age,  —  if  both  really  were  men,  —  and  they 
were  alike  brimming  over  with  marvellous  wisdom;  sea- 
knowledge  gleaned  from  half  a  century's  experience  in 
ocean-wallowings. 

There  they  sat,  the  venerable  white  man  and  the  ebony 
seer,  pondering  over  time-stained  sea-charts ;  the  long 
black,  shrivelled  finger  of  the  one  tracing  numerous 
pencillings  of  whale-flukes  on  the  yellow  charts  —  pro 
phetic  predictions  about  the  great  cachalots,  now  foretold 
months  in  advance.  The  labors  of  these  gray  old  spouters 
were  varied.  Sometimes  the  captain  found  mention  of 
whales  in  his  musty  old  logs  —  records  of  long  previous 
voyages.  Then  the  sable-faced  prophet  would  shut  his 
one  lone  eye  and  turn  his  shrunken  face  upward,  glancing 
introspectively  over  the  distant  ocean  in  question,  with  a 
solemn  aspect  of  mystery  and  meaning ;  never  failing  to 
confute  or  confirm  the  present  value  of  the  place  in 


The  Black  Prophet.  371 

question  as  a  whale-ground.  At  such  times,  the  thin, 
sunken  face  of  old  Ebony  looked  as  dead  as  the  black 
mummy  of  Pharaoh. 

When  the  captain's  suggestions  were  not  answered  to 
his  satisfaction,  then  Uncle  Joe  produced  his  own  illiterate 
memoranda ;  some  of  which  were  written  with  a  sail 
needle  upon  thin  leaves  of  ivory,  cut  from  the  teeth  of 
enormous  whales  which  the  old  man  had  killed.  From 
such  quaint  hieroglyphics  he  proved  that  only  "  passage 
whales  "  were  ever  seen  at  the  designated  places. 

To  a  landsman,  it  might  well  seem  absurd  to  thus  study 
ancient  ocean  charts,  seeking  the  mazy  currents  of  the 
deep,  by  which  to  trace  the  pathless  feeding-grounds  of 
the  nomadic  cachalot.  But  immense  sagacity  can  be,  and 
often  is  shown,  in  searching  the  labyrinthine  travel-ways 
of  whales,  along  the  known  and  the  unknown  seas.  For 
the  sperm  whale  is  a  worldwide  wanderer,  confined  to  no 
particular  ocean  or  clime ;  but  familiar  with  every  ocean- 
river,  shoal,  and  plateau ;  the  resorts  of  the  mighty  octo 
pus,  and  smaller  sea-squid,  upon  which  the  whales  fatten 
in  the  quarters  of  the  moon ;  as  a  human  gourmand 
thrives  upon  his  capon  and  his  cod. 

The  wide,  scared  eyes  of  superstitious  seamen  were  at 
times  seen  peering  in  upon  this  mystic  scene.  Men 
inured  to  believe  that  an  illiterate  person,  like  Joe  Bailey, 
could  only  be  endowed  with  such  supernatural  wisdom 
through  evil  agency.  One  by  one,  their  ghostly  faces 
flitted  past  the  window,  spying  upon  the  diabolical  doings 
within,  which  inspired  them  with  unaccountable  terror. 
Sneaking  forward  upon  the  knightheads,  they  held  secret 
conclave ;  and  with  low  voices  and  bated  breath  sought 


372  The  Fleetwing. 

to  fortify  one  another  in  their  pet  belief  that  old  Nick 
abode  among  them,  in  the  homely  guise  of  a  "  durned  one- 
eyed  niggar." 

Raymond  had  spent  his  evening  with  the  ladies,  in  the 
after  cabin,  taking  little  interest. in  the  witchcraft  doings 
in  the  forward  saloon.  He  left  the  ladies  on  the  plea  of 
writing  his  log.  That  done,  he  slipped  out  on  deck  to 
sit  aft,  where  the  breeze  fanned  down  upon  his  face  from 
the  foot  of  the  spanker,  a  nice  place  to  cool  off  before 
turning  in  for  the  night. 

As  the  mate  sat  facing  the  east,  the  great  yellow  moon 
came  stealing  up  out  of  the  sea,  made  big  as  a  cartwheel 
by  unusual  refraction.  The  eastern  horizon  was  barred 
with  narrow  bands  of  dark  stratus-clouds,  which  imparted 
a  sad  and  solemn  appearance  to  the  rising  orb,  and  awoke 
a  touch  of  home-longing  in  the  sailor's  heart. 

He  watched  the  moon  climb  past  each  of  the  obtruding 
vapors,  until  her  glittering  wake  at  length  stole  forth  over 
the  sea,  like  a  breath  of  prayer.  Saw  her  first  coy  beams 
glint  across  the  dark  bosom  of  the  sails,  until  one  by  one 
they  whitened  to  the  sheen  of  marble. 

Raymond  had  an  innate  affection  for  the  sea,  under 
whatever  guise  it  presented  itself,  —  whether  tempestuous 
or  tranquil.  As  it  was  the  moon  which  imparted  to  the 
sea  most  of  its  varying  moods  of  sublimity  and  beauty, 
he  dearly  loved  the  lunar  orb,  and  was  familiar  with  her 
every  footprint  upon  the  ocean,  as  well  as  with  her  subtle 
power  over  the  human  heart,  which  she  prompts  to  emo 
tional  ebb  and  flow  at  as  fixed  periods  as  the  ocean 
tides. 

To-night  it  was  with  a  retrospective  eye  that  he  saw 


Reveries  of  Home.  373 

the  lofty  dog-vane  glitter  in  the  rising  sheen,  and  wit 
nessed  the  tiny  sea-caps  leap  to  kiss  the  moonbeams,  like 
a  herd  of  lovers,  each  foam-crest  tinting  its  bursting  bub 
bles  with  a  score  of  prismatic  hues.  Raymond's  heart  was 
far  away  with  his  girl-love  to-night,  —  she  whom  Luna 
had  helped  to  win  upon  that  fair  September  midnight, 
and  had  ever  since  prompted  him  to  remember,  as  when 
she  wept,  at  parting,  on  the  distant  shore. 

Living  over  that  whole  painful  scene  of  separation,  the 
lover  still  felt  the  white -arms  of  his  pretty  Mary  Tudor 
clinging  about  his  neck,  as  in  that  high  cupola,  overlook 
ing  the  housetops  and  the  harbor.  He  still  heard  her 
grievous  sighs  and  girlish  sobs  commingled,  as  when  she 
appealed  to  him  with  her  great  dark  eyes  to  abjure  the 
dreadful  sea.  It  was  a  piteous  scene  for  a  lover  to  dwell 
upon,  and  yet  there  were  priceless  elements  of  pleasure  in 
the  theme  ;  for  only  a  strong,  true  love  could  thus  grieve 
over  a  parting.  So  argued  the  fond  lover  for  the  thou 
sandth  time. 

It  is  the  special  heritage  of  sailors  to  repeatedly  ponder 
over  their  brief  home-life,  and  its  transient  moments  of 
love,  upon  such  nights  as  this.  How  long  Raymond  sat 
there,  steeped  in  delicious  reverie,  and  lost  to  his  sur 
roundings,  he  knew  not. 

A  sigh,  tender  as  a  moonbeam,  fell  upon  his  ear,  fol 
lowed  by  a  low,  soft  voice  at  his  side,  which  served  to 
arouse  him.  Alas  !  it  was  not  his  Mamie,  as  he  had  first 
conceived.  He  turned  and  saw  Miss  Allston  watching 
him  with  a  look  of  sadness  and  sympathy  upon  her  face. 
Such  an  intrusion  is  a  critical  test  for  a  lover's  temper. 
But  the  girl  was  more  than  a  match  for  the  man. 


374  The  Fleetwing. 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Raymond,  even  you,  who  are  so  familiar  with 
the  sea,  are  as  homesick  to-night  as  I  am.  I  heard  you 
murmuring  your  dear  Mamie's  name  so  piteously  that 
tears  came  to  my  eyes,  and  I  could  not  forbear  proffering 
my  sympathy.  How  terrible  such  separations  as  yours 
must  be." 

"  Yes,  I  find  it  so.  It's  a  new  experience  to  me.  But 
I  don't  wish  to  get  sentimental  about  it.  See  how  sweetly 
the  moon  looks  yonder  over  the  weather-bow,"  not 
wishing  to  seem  too  spoony  in  the  presence  of  this  mat 
ter-of-fact  girl. 

"  Yes,  it  bewitches  everything  it  shines  upon.  Truly,  I 
couldn't  stay  in  the  cabin  another  minute,  when  I  saw 
her.  I  just  wished  that  I  had  wings  to  fly  away  where  I 
could  find  some  one  to  love  me  "  ;  and  the  girl  gave  birth 
to  a  bouncing  sigh,  on  her  own  lovelorn  account.  Ray 
mond  would  rather  have  been  left  to  silence,  but  this 
appeal  from  the  girl  claimed  his  attention. 

"  Moonlight  is  indeed  very  bewitching.  See  how  it  tips 
the  little  wave-tops  with  rainbows." 

"  And  how  joyous  the  sleepy  ship  starts  up  to  greet  the 
charming  Cynthia.  Ah,  wouldn't  you  be  a  happy  man  were 
Mary  Tudor  here  to-night  ? "  A  woman  so  hankers  to 
dabble  in  the  love  of  another,  if  she  has  not  a  Cupid  of 
her  own  to  hatch. 

"  That's  the  kind  of  joy  I  was  picturing  when  you  came 
out.  But  'twill  be  many  a  long  year  before  Mary  and  I 
can  watch  the  moon  together,"  —  words  that  were  made 
doubly  sad  by  the  manly  sigh  which  followed  them. 

"  I  wish  I  could  have  seen  and  known  Miss  Tudor. 
She  ought  to  be  bright,  as  well  as  beautiful,  to  merit  such 
love  as  yours." 


Confess  ions.  375 

"  I  believe  she  is  all  the  heart  of  man  could  wish.  She 
is  young,  and  unformed,  but  will  make  a  noble  woman. 
—  See  how  the  trade's  have  freshened  since  the  moon  came 
up,  ready  to  bear  you  to  your  lover  at  the  Islands,  while  I 
am  torn,  heart  from  heart,  from  mine." 

"Oh,  dear  me  !"  — said  with  a  visible  touch  of  impa 
tience.  "  It's  so  long  since  I  parted  with  Mr.  Richards 
that  I  don't  know  how  we  may  be  suited  to  each  other 
now."  It  was  a  topic  which  the  girl  did  not  relish  with 
Raymond. 

"  I  believe  him  to  be  a  man  of  character,  and  think  he 
will  make  you  a  good  mate." 

"  God  grant  it  may  be  so.  But  it's  a  strange  adventure 
for  a  girl  to  undertake." 

"  Yet,  it  is  not  uncommon  for  girls  to  go  out  to  Hon 
olulu,  and  wed  their  old  lovers.  We  took  out  a  young 
lady  with  us  voyage  before  last,  and  Father  Damon  came 
aboard  and  married  them  before  she  landed." 

"  Oh,  yes,  it's  done,  I  presume.  But  it  is  not  a  nice 
thing  to  do.  I  almost  wish  I  had  gone  home  with  Nellie 
Lawrence,  as  she  wished  me  to." 

"  Why  didn't  you  ?  You  two  are  so  well  adapted  to  live 
together." 

"  I  felt  drawn  in  another  direction.  But  should  have 
gone  with  her,  if  you  had.  How  could  yon  find  the  heart 
to  refuse  such  a  beautiful  creature  ?  " 

"A  man  should  trust  to  his  own  right  arm  in  hewing  his 
way  to  a  position  in  life.  My  new  father  and  sister  will 
not  love  me  the  less  for  the  independence  I  have  shown. 
Besides,  it  were  best  that  Nellie  and  I  should  be  separated 
for  a  while  ;  that  you  all  could  see.  She  is  a  darling  girl, 


3/6  The  Fleetwing. 

and  I  love  her  dearly.  I  am  not  situated  so  as  to  fulfil  all 
her  requirements."  This  was  the  only  explanation  Ray 
mond  had  given  to  any  one  but  Nellie  of  his  dealings 
with  the  Lawrences. 

"Oh,  Mr.  Raymond,  I  envy  such  a  precious  home-love 
as  yours.  And  how  I  hate  this  foreign  mission  that  I  am 
on,"  and  every  word  which  the  sad  girl  uttered  was 
steeped  in  tears. 

"  Mine  is  a  better  state  of  things,  all  but  this  heart 
rending  separation.  —  Why,  there's  eight  bells!  How 
came  I  to  keep  you  out  here  till  eleven  o'clock  ?  " 

"  I  guess  we're  both  a  little  interested  in  the  topic,"  she 
said,   indulging  in    a   silly,   girlish  giggle ;    which  is  the 
usual  accompaniment  of  such  love-talks  by  moonlight. 
"  Perhaps  so.     But  it's  time  we  were  in  our  berths." 
"  I  don't  care  about  it's  being  late,  if  you  don't." 
"  I  do  care.     I  should  have  thought  for  us  both." 
And  the  gallant  fellow  took  the  unwilling  girl  by  the 
hand,   and   led  her  down  the  poop  stairs  ;   bidding  her 
good-night  at   his  state-room   door ;    wholly   unconscious 
whether  he  returned  the  warm  pressure  of  her  hand,  at 
the  last,  or  not. 

Yet  there  were  times  when  a  person  of  Raymond's  strong 
virility  could  not  help  admiring  —  almost  loving  —  the 
lithe,  slender  figure  and  delicate  beauty  of  Asenith  All- 
ston.  Her  sparkling,  animated  manners  and  piquant 
talk  never  failed  to  charm  him.  And  though  the  fellow 
prated  to  himself  about  the  robust  physical  charms  of  his 
Mary,  surely  he  was  sufficient  connoisseur  to  realize  that  a 
trifle  more  contour  would  greatly  improve  Miss  Allston  • 
take  the  sharp  edge  from  her  pliant  tongue ;  curb  her  free 


Asenith  Allston.  377 

manners ;   and  make  her  a  yet  more  enticing  companion 
for  a  sea-voyage,  if  not  for  the  voyage  of  life. 

Sad  it  is  that  however  trifling  this  lack  of  normal  devel 
opment  may  be,  it  is  all-sufficient  to  rob  a  woman  of  the 
exquisite,  subtle  power  to  fix  a  man's  affection  beyond 
recall  —  as  the  polarity  of  the  needle  is  irrevocable  fixed 
by  the  magnet.  The  girl's  frequent  confidential  chats 
with  the  susceptible  mate,  were  certainly  weaving  a  strong 
bond  of  sympathy  between  them  ;  and  as  there  is  no  place 
like  the  lonely  nights  at  sea,  in  which  to  put  a  sailor 
under  confessional,  —  one  of  the  chief  by-laws  of  ship 
board,  being  "No  secrets  off  soundings,"  —  there  is  no 
telling  what  may  yet  come  to  pass  before  the  voyage  is 
over. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE   TWO    JILTED  MATES. 

the  next  morning  a  sail  hove  in  sight  coming 
down  the  Brazilian  coast.  The  Fleetwing  was  headed 
in  towards  the  Abrolhos  Islands,  keeping  a  bright  look 
out  for  whales.  The  new-comer  showed  desire  to  speak, 
so  the  courses  were  brailed  up,  and  the  head  yards  flung 
aback,  to  permit  the  stranger  to  run  down.  The  vessel 
proved  to  be  the  Rainbow,  Captain  Flasket,  who  was  an 
old  friend  of  Captain  Talbert.  She  had  sailed  t\vo 
months  after  the  Fleetwing,  and  brought  quite  a  mail-bag 
for  her  people. 

Raymond  had  letters  from  his  mother,  sister,  and 
several  other  friends,  but  not  a  word  from  Mary  Tudor. 
The  hot  blood  rushed  to  his  face  as  this  awkward  fact 
dawned  fully  upon  him,  when  Mrs.  Talbert  called  him  into 
the  cabin  to  give  him  his  letters.  When  the  sympathizing 
woman  saw  how  deeply  he  was  affected  by  Mary's  neglect, 
she  burst  into  tears,  pushed  the  mate  into  his  state-room, 
and  shut  the  door  upon  him.  It  was  a  blow  to  her,  for 
the  Talberts  had  introduced  them.  It  was  a  stain  upon 
the  womanhood  of  New  Bedford,  for  the  number  of  its 
infidelities  during  the  long  whaling  voyages  was  so 
numerous  that  a  truthful  woman  was  a  rare  enigma  in 
that  sink  of  iniquity. 

378 


The  Jilted  L  over.  379 

Raymond  did  not  open  any  of  his  letters,  but  locked 
them  up  in  his  chest,  and  sat  down  upon  it ;  dazed  and 
oblivious  to  all  about  him.  It  is  so  hard  to  realize  such 
an  unexpected  blow.  It  is  so  dreadful  to  blot  out  of  ex 
istence  such  an  ideal  creation,  as  that  which  Raymond 
had  reared  around  the  callow  semblance  of  Mary  Tudor. 
It  was  a  strong  man's  first  glimpse  of  Elysium,  and  he  had 
lavished  his  richest  emotions  at  the  alluring  shrine. 

Sitting  there  with  his  eyes  fixed  upon  vacancy,  he 
arrayed  the  pros  and  cons  in  judgment  before  him.  He 
argued  :  The  Tudors  live  in  New  Bedford,  and  knew  that 
the  Rainbow  would  bring  letters  to  the  Fleetwing.  How 
could  my  Mary  fail  to  write  ?  What  could  induce  such 
neglect,  two  months  after  such  earnest  assurance  of  love  ? 

But  then,  per  contra,  he  argued :  No  news  may  not 
mean  bad  news.  I  should  keep  up  hope  till  the  next  ship 
follows.  The  Peacock  sailed  a  week  before ;  perhaps 
Mamie  has  written  by  that  vessel.  The  dear  girl  could  not 
mean  to  neglect  me,  who  love  her  so  dearly ! 

Such  arguments  ought  to  have  lifted  the  weight  from 
his  heart,  but  they  did  not.  He  would  have  struck  down 
a  person,  at  that  moment,  who  should  have  hinted  at  Miss 
Tudor's  infidelity.  He  had  not  yet  mastered  that  fact 
himself  ;  and  he  would  have  resented  hasty  judgment  in 
another.  It  was  a  long  time  dawning  upon  him  that  the 
Talberts  must  have  all  the  facts  in  their  letters,  and  he 
could  have  these  facts  for  the  asking.  But  he  would  not 
ask.  It  awakened  his  ire  to  think  of  one  of  those  life 
long  friends  waiting  at  his  door  to  announce  :  — 

"  Poor  fellow  !     So  you  are  jilted." 

He  feared  to  hear  the  base  slur  shouted  from  the  mast- 


380  The  Fleetwing. 

head,  as  one  listens  to  hear,  There  she  blows !  He  had 
twice  heard  the  low  voice  of  Mrs.  Talbert,  forbidding 
Braybrook,  or  the  steward,  intruding  upon  his  privacy. 
It  at  length  dawned  upon  him  that  he  must  face  this 
thing ;  as  he  would  face  a  fighting  whale.  It  was  a  fore 
gone  conclusion  that  he  was  a  jilted  lover.  He  had  faced 
deadlier  perils,  and  he  came  to  think  he  could  survive 
this  ,  and  he  went  out  on  deck  and  ordered  a  pull  at  the 
jib-halyards,  and  the  weather  royal  sheet. 

The  two  captains  were  old  friends.  Flasket  brought 
the  mail  aboard  himself,  and,  upon  invitation,  concluded 
to  spend  the  day.  It  was  agreed  that  the  ships  should 
"  mate,"  if  they  lowered  in  the  same  school  together. 
Flasket  asked  Raymond  to  go  aboard  the  Rainbow  and 
spend  the  day  with  Mr.  Gifford,  who  was  an  acquaintance 
of  his. 

Glad  to  get  clear  of  his  own  ship  for  a  while,  the  lar 
board  boat  was  lowered  away,  and  Raymond  tried  to  en 
liven  up  a  little,  and  have  a  pleasant  gam  with  his  old 
friend  ;  who  was  now  on  his  fourth  voyage  mate.  A  man 
of  large  experience  with  whales,  but  who  was  not  known 
to  be  a  teetotaller.  The  two  mates  met,  with  hearty 
greetings.  Gifford  could  hardly  believe  his  own  ears, 
when  told  that  the  Fleetwing  had  taken  over  a  thousand 
barrels  of  sperm  oil.  He  came  near  swallowing  his  cud, 
in  concocting  a  suitable  expletive  for  the  occasion ;  and 
remarked  :  — 

"  Well,  Charlie,  I  s'pose  Dave  Braybrook  done  ar  good 
part  o'  yer  whalin'?  I  teld  your  Agent  thet  he  did  ar  big 
thing  when  he  shipped  Dave  as  second  fiddle  in  your 
craft." 


The  Deuce  he  is  !  381 

"  Mr.  Braybrook  hasn't  been  as  fortunate  as  was  ex 
pected.  But  he's  a  first-class  man,  nevertheless ;  and  I 
like  him  as  a  shipmate." 

"  How's  diet  ?  Dave  allus  made  himself  heard  when 
we  were  together.  How  many  on  um  has  he  tuck  ?  " 

"  Out  of  fifteen  whales  taken  to  the  ship,  Braybrook 
counts  two  to  his  boat." 

"  Who'n  thunder  did  tuck  'em,  if  Dave  didn't?  " 

"  Joe  Bailey  and  I  had  the  luck  to  strike  among  school 
whales,  arid  Braybrook  did  good  service  in  saving  the 
extra  whales,  some  of  which  ought  to  count  to  the  waist- 
boat.  But  our  friend  is  a  little  touchy  on  that  point,  and 
wouldn't  reckon  anything  he  didn't  strike  at  first  hand." 

So  the  time  whiled  pleasantly  away  between  the  mates, 
though  Raymond  would  neither  wine  it,  nor  smoke,  nor 
chew  the  universal  weed  with  his  friend ;  who  was 
addicted  to  all  the  graces.  About  mid-afternoon,  Gifford 
mentioned  among  other  home  news,  the  arrival  of  the 
barque  Skipjack,  Captain  Bonney  ;  and  casually  added:  — 

"They  say  Bonney  is  goin'  to  marry  Mary  Tudor,  of 
Purchase  Street,  Cap'n  Jim's  da'ter." 

"  The  deuce  he  is ! "  exclaimed  Raymond,  with  un 
feigned  surprise  ;  for  Captain  Bonney  was  a  very  inferior 
sort  of  man. 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  think  thet  splicin'  bus'ness  wus  all  settled 
'fore  we  sailed." 

"  Why,  Gifford,  that  girl  was  engaged  to  me." 

"  The  devil  an'  Tom  Walker  !  —  Come  ter  think  uv  it, 
Chaulie,"  exclaimed  the  old  mate,  with  a  look  of  commis 
eration  creeping  into  his  face,  "  I  did  hearn  say  thet  you 
had  the  little  craft  in  tow,  while  at  home.  Nuthin'  ser'ous, 


382  T/ie  Fleetwing. 

I  hope.  For,  sartinly,  she  wouldn't  gin  up  a  spruce 
young  mate,  like  you,  for  sich  ar  lopsided  old  Ballyhoo  as 
Bonney " ;  and  Gifford  leisurely  blew  away  the  cloud  of 
smoke  from  before  him,  and  gave  a  sly,  abashed  leer  into 
the  face  of  his  companion. 

"  We  were  engaged  to  be  married,  my  friend,  and  I  had 
no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  girl  loved  me  dearly." 

"  Sorry  to  hear  thet,  Chaulie.  Twas  said  widder  Tudor 
druv  the  barg'in.  She  said  :  '  Ar  bird  in  hand  is  the 
p'int  fur  wimin  ter  look  arter.'  She  tuck  the  helm,  an' 
forced  the  gal  on.  Bonney  had  made  ar  good  v'y'ge,  an' 
wuz  minded  ter  gin  up  the  sea.  Thet  wuz  the  bait  what 
tuck  the  gal." 

"Well,  Gifford,  if  Mary  Tudor  finds  herself  better 
suited  with  Captain  Bonney,  I  ought  not  to  complain." 

"  Tell  yer  what,  maty,  Bedford  am  ar  cussed  bad  place 
ter  house  yer  best  bower.  Female  critters  is  like  ar 
broken-backed  ship ;  the  damage  is  under  water,  an'  yer 
don't  see  it.  But  e'en  amost  all  wimin  folks  is  hogged  in 
the  keel,  an'  unsound  in  the  heart.  Some  on  um  will  run 
well  'nough  when  goin'  free,  an'  in  ballast;  but  jus'  put  em 
close  haul,  an'  load  em  up  with  yer  hopes  an'  yer  happi 
ness,  an'  they'll  sartinly  founder  every  feller  they  take  in 
tow." 

"There's  a  great  lack  of  fidelity  among  the  Bedford 
women,  I  believe.  This  is  my  first  experience,  and  the 
last." 

"  Fidelity  !  There  ain't  no  sich  wimin  folks  in  the  place. 
Why  look  yer,  boy !  Geordie  Gifford  has  bin  tuck  in 
eleven  times  by  the  critters "  ;  and  the  grave  old  mate 
dwelt  seriously  on  the  eleventh  invisible  finger,  to  see  if 


The  Eleven  Jilts.  383 

there    were    not   twelve    unfaithful    loved    ones ;    as    he 
solemnly   numerated   the    Sallies,    Follies,    Mollies,   etc., 
who  had  jilted  him  during  the  past  forty  years. 
"  And  were  you  never  married  in  all  that  time." 
"  Nary  a  time,  my  lad.     One  o'  my  last  girls  came  the 
nearest  to  stickin'  of  any  on  um.       For  yer  see,  bub,  I 
courted  two  at  a  lick  thet  time  home." 

"Why,  Gifford,  you  wretch,  how  did  you  do  that  ?  " 
"One  ter  time  didn't  succeed  with  me,  an'  as  double 
tops'ils  wuz  jus  comin'  in  fashion  on  ships,  I  applied 
double  gals  to  the  shore-craft.  It  kept  a  feller  thunderin' 
busy,  makin'  and  takin'  in  sail.  One  wuz  ar  Bedford  gal, 
an'  t'other  wuz  ar  Fairhaven  widder.  I  courted  the  gal 
durin'  the  full  run  o'  the  flood ;  an'  played  spoony  with 
the  widdy  from  the  ebb  to  half-tide. 

"  Widdy  Loveum  had  'nuther  feller  —  a  sort  o' second 
fiddle  ter  me.  He  came  across  the  bay  frum  Dartmouth 
to  do  his  courtin'.  Loveum  wuz  squar'  with  me;  she 
'lowed  thet  Bill  Wiggin  wuz  the  best  feller  for  her,  bein' 
ar  shore  chap ;  but  she  didn't  think  he'd  stick  ;  an  if  Bill 
sloped,  she'd  splice  with  me.  I  thought  Bill's  chance  wuz 
better  nor  mine,  so  I  toted  over  ter  Bedford  every  flopd, 
ter  court  Susie  Brown  durin'  high  water. 

"  Sue  wuz  ar  bloomer!  A  craft  what  could  sail  by,  or 
large  ;  an'  tow  ar  half  dozen  sich  as  me,  without  strainin' 
sheet,  tack,  or  bowlin'.  I'd  ruther  have  got  spliced  ter 
Sue  than  the  widdy  ;  so  I  shined  my  own  boots,  an'  per 
fumed  my  ha'r  with  cajapugy  ile,  an'  tuck  the  best  of  the 
tide  ter  win  her.  I  left  home  engaged  ter  two  on  um. 
But  I  didn't  truly  'spose  thet  I  should  marry  more'n  one 
o'  the  critters."  He  took  a  whiff  at  his  pipe,  and  fell  into 


384  The  Fleetiving. 

a  reverie,  from  which  it  required  a  nudge  from  Raymond 
to  arouse  him. 

"Well,  George,  which  one  of  the  ladies  did  you  select  ?  " 
"  Nuther  one  on  em.  Sue  Brown  shifted  her  anchorage 
a  month  arter  I  sailed,  an'  married  an  outfittin'  son  of  a 
gun  durin'  the  year ;  an'  has  got  ar  blubber-room  full  o' 
young  uns  now.  Wicldy  Loveum  kept  up  her  hyfalutin' 
love  letters  till  the  ship  wuz  homeward  bound,  full  to  the 
carlines.  I  brought  lots  of  presents,  ter  have  a  jolly  good 
weddin'.  I  shaved  my  face  all  the  home  passage,  an'  put 
cocoanut  ile  on  my  ha'r,  tryin'  ter  look  sweet  an'  youngish 
for  the  'casion.  But  law  bless  yer,  Chaulie,  Loveum 
turned  to  Bill  Wiggin  long  'fore  I  arriv'  home,  an'  I  found 
her  nussin'  ar  small  Wiggin  when  I  called  on  'er.  So  I 
gin  'er  the  presents,  all  the  same  ;  stood  granther  to  the 
brat,  let  my  beard  grow,  sold  my  ha'r  ile  to  ar  barber,  an' 
never  left  my  best  bower  at  home  arter  thet,  you  bet." 
"  Ah,  Gifford,  you  have  had  a  hard  time  of  it." 
"Yes,  Chaulie,  it's  ar  tarnal  crooked  way  o'  doing 
things.  But  sailor-chaps  git  hardened  to  it  arter  a  while  : 
then,  'any  port  in  ar  storm '  for  the  rest  o'  life." 

"What  excuse  did  the  New  Bedford  girl  make,  Gifford?  " 
hoping  to  glean  some  little  glimpse  of  reason  why  an 
honest  girl  should  thus  jilt  her  lover. 

"  Oh,  she  teld  ar  good  story.  They  all  duz.  She  said 
she'd  hearn  tell  o'  my  tipplin'  in  foreign  ports — think  o' 
thet  —  an'  she  feared  the  habit  mought  grow  onter  me. 
Blame  it !  I  signed  the  pledge  thet  time  home,  jist  to 
quiet  the  gal ;  an'  I  never  tuck  more  'n  four  glasses  ar  day 
arter  thet,  on  ship  or  shore.  Durned  onreasonable  critters, 
wimin  folks  is." 


Among  Whales.  3$ 5 

Just  then  the  deck  officer  called  down  the  cabin  gang 
way  to  say  that  the  Fleetwing  had  hauled  aback,  and  made 
a  signal  of  recall  at  the  gaff.  The  mates  shook  hands 
heartily  at  parting,  for  a  new  bond  of  sympathy  had 
sprung  up  between  them,  which  Gifford  tenderly  ex 
pressed  by  his  looks  and  the  strong  grip  of  his  hand  at 
parting. 

The  breach  of  a  large  whale  had  been  seen  far  to  wind 
ward,  and  as  the  Fleetwing  was  expected  to  outsail  the 
Rainbow,  both  captains  thought  best  to  end  the  gam. 
When  the  larboard  boat  was  fairly  on  the  cranes,  all  sail 
was  made,  and  the  yards  braced  up  sharp  for  a  close 
haul. 

Nearly  an  hour  passed  before  further  signs  of  the  whales 
were  seen.  It  was  then  found  that  the  school  was  heading 
with  the  ship,  on  a  course  a  little  more  off  from  the  wind. 
When  the  whales  went  down,  the  ship  tacked  to  the  south 
for  half  an  hour,  and  then  went  in  stays  again,  heading 
nearly  in  the  wake  of  the  school. 

The  Fleetwing  had  gained  two  miles  to  windward  of  the 
Rainbow  when  the  whales  came  up  near  enough  for  lower 
ing.  The  three  larboard  boats  were  sent  down,  and  got  a 
good  position,  while  the  school  was  sounding.  Raymond 
had  purposely  given  Braybrook  the  lead,  and  when  the 
whales  came  up  near  at  hand,  the  waist-boat  went  on  and 
struck  first.  The  school  appeared  confused  for  a  time, 
and  both  the  mate  and  Uncle  Joe  ran  among  them  and 
fastened. 

The  whales  went  down  before  any  of  them  could  be 
lanced.  They  ran  slowly  off  to  leeward,  so  that  the  four 
boats  from  the  Rainbow  were  ready  to  take  a  chance  at 


386  The  Fleetwing. 

them  when  they  came  up.  Captain  Flasket  and  Gifford 
got  fast,  which  sent  the  school  running  to  windward  at  top 
speed. 

The  five  fast  whales  kept  among  the  loose  ones, 
which  were  too  much  scattered  for  the  boats  to  secure  any 
more.  Raymond  killed  his  whale  first,  his  example  being 
followed  by  the  four  other  boats  in  rapid  succession. 
Both  ships  took  their  whales  alongside  just  before  sunset, 
and  the  next  day  was  busily  spent  in  cutting. 

As  no  other  whales  were  seen  while  the  boiling  and 
stowing  were  going  on,  the  ships  gave  up  their  afternoons 
and  evenings  to  pleasant  gams,  Captain  Flasket  almost 
always  coming  aboard  the  Fleetwing. 

Twice  Mr.  Gifford  came  to  visit  Raymond.  The  poor 
fellow  was  so  much  smitten  with  Miss  Allston,  he  declared 
that  he  did  nothing  but  dream  about  her,  and  asserted, 
honestly,  that  if  she  would  take  passage  in  his  ship,  he 
would  break  his  vow,  and  "  buckle  down  an'  count  the 
twelfth  gal,  in  spite  o'  thunder." 

The  five  whales  made  three  hundred  barrels,  and  as  the 
ships  were  mated,  the  Fleetwing  had  to  give  thirty  barrels 
of  her  oil  to  Captain  Flasket,  making  a  hundred  and  fifty 
barrels  for  each.  This  catch  made  the  Fleetwing's  total 
one  thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  barrels. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE    PHANTOM    KISSES. 

A  FORTNIGHT  passed  since  the  last  whales  were 
**  taken,  before  another  was  seen.  The  day  had.  been 
so  nearly  calm  that  the  Rainbow  was  unable  to  approach 
for  her  usual  gam.  The  whale  was  a  large,  lone  one,  and 
took  fright  from  hearing  the  captain's  boat  approaching  in 
the  calm  sea.  He  went  down  heading  toward  the  other 
ship,  but  was  not  seen  again  by  the  lookouts  on  either 
vessel. 

As  evening  set  in,  the  mild  trade-winds  ventured  timidly 
in  toward  the  land  again.  There  was  just  sufficient 
breeze  to  set  the  young  waves  galloping  over  the  glassy 
surface.  The  mimic  billows  purled  up  into  little  plumy 
crests  as  they  ran  romping  after  each  other,  breaking  with 
a  low  ripple  of  laughter  like  the  voices  of  children  when 
playing  on  the  village  green. 

A  modest  streak  of  new  moon  tinted  the  evening  sky 
with  mild  radiance,  in  delicious  keeping  with  the  tranquil 
night.  It  was  a  timid  tropic  moon,  coyly  borrowing  the 
tiniest  thread  of  light  from  the  departed  sun.  The  moon 
hung  so  clear  in  the  western  sky  that  the  whole  circle  of 
the  shadowed  orb  was  seen  limned  about  with  a  faint  rim 
of  gold,  meet  cincture  for  a  vestal  at  her  evening  prayers. 

The  sun  went  down  a  little  to  the  north  of  Luna, 
387 


388  The  Flcclwing. 

leaving  the  gorgeous  drapery  of  his  couch  undrawn  during 
the  brief  vespers  of  a  tropic  twilight.  The  crimson 
bars  of  stratus-clouds  lingered  longer  than  usual  ere  they 
donned  their  accustomed  purple,  and  were  lifted  above 
the  moon  by  the  influence  of  the  land-wind  beyond.  \Yith 
folded  hands  the  meek-faced  Cynthia  sat  throned  in  the 
west  on  a  pearl-gray  pyramid  of  zodiacal  light  —  itself  an 
unsolved  mystery  of  the  stellar  world. 

When  the  last  ray  of  refracted  sunlight  had  fairly 
departed,  there  was  not  sufficient  light  reflected  from  the 
young  moon  to  illuminate  the  deepening  shades  of  night. 
What  light  there  was  was  of  the  kind  that  tends  to  people 
the  dusky  solitude  of  the  sea  with  grim  phantoms  ;  impal 
pable  apparitions,  shaped  according  to  the  varying  texture 
of  the  individual  brain. 

A  keen  observer  might  easily  trace  the  psychal  effect 
of  this  sudden  sea-change  upon  all  on  board.  Among  the 
sailors,  who  had  been  dancing  merry  jigs  and  singing 
roistering  songs  on  the  forecastle,  the  change  was  magical. 
The  dancing  ceased,  as  by  a  mandate.  The  singing  was 
confined  to  a  few  sentimental  groups,  whose  low-voiced 
songs  were  aptly  keyed  to  the  sad  and  solemn  hour.  A 
group  of  the  older  seamen  instinctively  gathered  about 
the  windlass-bitts  and  knightheads,  urging  one  of  their 
number  to  relate  some  dismal  sea-yarn,  while  they  sni 
about  the  speaker  smoking  their  everlasting  pipes.  As  the 
hoarse,  sepulchral  voice  of  the  story-teller  peopled  the 
dusky  gloom  with  spooks  and  other  uncanny  creatures,  he 
aroused  the  superstitious  fears  of  his  illiterate  audience, 
till  one  by  one  they  gathered  nearer  and  nearer  about 
him  ;  as  if  the  author  of  these  ghostly  sea-yarns  had  the 


The  Lonely  Hour.  389 

power  to  protect  them  from  the  terrors  which  he  had 
created. 

The  officers,  who  had  briskly  walked  the  quarter-deck 
till  the  sun  went  down,  were  now  seen  gathered  about  the 
weather-rail,  amidships.  There  was  a  tone  of  tender 
solicitude  in  their  voices,  while  they  talked  of  home  and 
planned  projects  of  improvement  for  the  future  happiness 
of  their  dear  ones,  should  the  voyage  continue  as  pros 
perous  as  it  had  begun.  This  home-sentiment,  on  ship 
board,  becomes  the  strongest  incentive  for  officers  and 
boat-steerers  to  each  do  his  best  for  the  general  good  of 
all ;  while  the  homeless  shellback  of  the  forecastle  knows 
no  higher  interest  than  the  debasing  allurements  of  one 
port  after  another  —  not  only  throughout  the  voyage,  but 
during  his  whole  aimless  life.  Yet,  on  these  lonely  nights, 
one  and  all  are  greatly  dependent  on  companionship  for 
their  very  existence. 

Miss  Allston  had  watched  the  bewitching  sunset  scene 
from  her  cabin  window,  and  more  than  all  others  felt  the 
sudden  sense  of  solicitude  for  companionship  when  the 
encroaching  darkness  crept  like  an  eerie  into  her  soul. 
When  she  went  up  into  the  cabin,  Mrs.  Talbert  was  just 
ordering  lights ;  then  she  and  the  captain  devoted  them 
selves  to  a  frolic  with  their  child  ;  wholly  oblivious  of  the 
lonely  girl,  —  who  stood  looking  upon  the  pretty  domestic 
scene. 

It  suddenly  occurred  to  Asenith  Allston  that  there  was 
no  niche  in  any  human  heart  open  to  receive  her.  Then 
she  thought  of  Raymond,  with  this  great  weight  of  new 
found  sorrow  to  bear,  through  such  a  lonely  hour.  With 
tremulous  lips  and  tearful  eyes  she  stole  out  upon  deck, 


390  The  Flcctwing. 

hoping  to  exchange  a  word  of  condolence  with  one  for 
whom  her  heart  had  ached  through  all  the  long  day.  The 
busy  scenes  of  boiling,  and  visiting  back  and  forth  with 
the  other  ship,  had  debarred  their  meeting  alone  for  two 
weeks ;  but  the  warm-hearted  girl  had  daily  reflected  and 
mourned  over  his  sufferings  with  more  profound  sympathy 
than  any  other. 

She  groped  her  way  aft  to  the  taffrail,  and  stood  alone 
in  the  silence ;  peering  about  her,  she  unconsciously 
drank  in  the  weird  influence  pervading  the  night.  The 
girl's  back  was  to  the  moon  ;  and  she  reverently  turned 
her  eyes  to  the  stars,  which  gemmed  the  cloudless  canopy. 
The  fore  and  mainsails  were  hanging  in  the  brails,  so  that 
the  girl  could  just  distinguish,  with  ear  and  eye,  the 
group  of  officers  in  the  waist ;  and  dimly  discern  the 
phantom-like  clusters  of  men  on  the  forward  deck.  A 
sense  of  loneliness  and  awe  crept  over  her ;  a  feeling  of 
utter  desolation,  lest  none  should  ever  love  and  care  for 
her. 

When  Asenith  turned,  and  discovered  the  delicate 
crescent  in  the  west,  a  great  sigh  of  relief  escaped  the 
homesick  girl.  She  was  startled,  to  hear  her  sigh  echoed 
back  from  the  dismal  gloom.  Hearkening,  she  heard 
numerous  responsive  expirations  coming  from  another 
lonely  soul,  somewhere  in  the  solemn  darkness. 

Peering  sharply  about  her  in  the  starlit  gloom,  she  dis 
covered  Raymond,  seated  alone  in  the  weather  quarter 
boat.  With  a  cry  of  relief,  she  asked  with  mock  humility 
if  she  might  keep  him  company.  The  mate  answered  by 
rising  and  giving  the  girl  his  hand;  steadying  her  care 
fully  into  the  boar,.,where  he  had  hoped  to  seclude  him 
self  from  all  intrusion. 


Raymond  and  Asenith.  391 

"  Dear  me  !  "  sighed  the  half  weeping  girl,  well  knowing 
that  her  company  was  not  wanted,  "  what  a  sad  and  lone 
some  time  this  is ;  I  never  felt  so  forsaken  before." 

"  It  is  a  precious  hour  to  me  ;  in  keeping  with  my 
thoughts,  as  I  have  sat  here  brooding  over  the  past,  and 
called  up  the  loved  faces  to  people  the  ghostly  gloom." 

"What  delicious  home-plans  are  you  contemplating? 
Come,  be  kind,  and  take  me  into  your  confidence  ;  for  I 
feel  so  lonely  and  unloved  at  this  moment  that  I  wish  I 
had  never  been  born."  It  was  the  cry  of  a  drowning 
soul ;  and  for  a  moment  Raymond  aroused  from  his  selfish 
mood  of  grief  to  lend  the  girl  a  helping  hand. 

"And  did  you,  too,  receive  unpleasant  news  from 
home  ?  "  As  if  unhappiness  could  only  be  doled  out  to  a 
jilted  lover. 

"  Oh,  no  ;  my  home-news  was  all  I  could  ask.  Let  me 
hope,  Mr.  Raymond,  that  you  are  not  brooding  over  the 
one  sad  event  which  lies  most  heavily  upon  your  heart." 
All  unconsciously  the  girl  laid  her  hand  gently  upon  Ray 
mond's  arm,  a  natural  gesture,  intended  to  impress  him 
with  her  profound  sympathy. 

"  Ah,  Miss  Allston,  this  is  an  hour  when  the  saddest 
experience  of  our  lives  is  sure  to  find  us  out,  and  fasten 
upon  us  with  tooth  and  nail,  whether  we  will  or  no  "  ;  and 
the  sad  fellow  sighed  lustily,  as  if  the  confession  had 
given  relief. 

"  I  feared  as  much.  But,  dear  friend,  it  is  not  good  for 
us  to  dwell  upon  the  irrevocable.  Come,  please  talk  to 
me  about  some  of  the  future  plans  you  spoke  of." 

The  sympathetic  fingers  upon  Raymond's  arm  slid 
quickly  down  upon  his  hand,  as  it  lay  on  the  gunwale  of 


392  The  Fleetwing. 

the  boat ;  pressing  it  tenderly,  as  if  to  further  impress  the 
girl's  plea  for  his  confidence. 

"  Bless  you  !  The  great  charm  has  suddenly  gone  out 
of  all  my  ambitious  schemes.  I  can't  find  an  instant's 
pleasure  groping  into  the  future,  as  before  this  hateful 
news  came  to  me."  The  grieved  fellow  gripped  the  gun 
wale,  which  lay  beneath  his  imprisoned  hand,  with  a 
clutch  of  strong  agony  that  horrified  his  companion  at 
this  evidence  of  his  suffering. 

"  Oh,  oh  !  Mr.  Raymond,  they  have  told  me  that  you 
were  strong,  and  had  the  iron  resolution  to  put  this  decep 
tive  girl  out  of  your  memory  forever.  Will  you,  must  you, 
cling  to  that  sweet  delusion ;  that  hateful,  unreal  dream, 
whose  subject  you  ought  to  hate  for  her  infidelity  ? " 
The  girl's  hand  clutched  the  mate's  as  strongly  as  his 
grasped  the  gunwale. 

"  Never  fear,  I've  strength  and  latent  resolution  enough 
to  master  this  matter  as  you  would  wish  —  in  time.  But 
there  is  an  element  of  mystery  in  this  affair,  which 
prompts  curiosity,  and  tempts  a  philosophic  mind  to 
ponder  and  explore  the  nature  of  this  girl.  It  horrifies 
me  to  think  of  her  passionate  love  being  so  easily  turned 
into  indifference,  if  not  hate." 

"  It  is  an  element  of  great  unhappiness  to  you,  and  of 
deep  regret  to  all  who  love  you.  Do,  please,  cast  all 
thought  of  that  hateful  creature  from  you." 

"Ah,  my  little  friend,  that's  easier  said  than  done.  I 
deem  it  best  to  explore  this  hateful  problem  ;  lest  I  find 
myself  at  enmity  with  the  whole  universe  of  women,  be 
cause  of  the  foul  blot  this  one  base  girl  has  put  upon  the 
integrity  of  her  sex." 


The  Girl's  Appeal.  393 

"  Dear  me  !  has  the  poisoned  arrow  struck  so  deep  as 
that?" 

"  Yes,  it  rankles  to  the  core.  The  incision  must  be 
deep  and  thorough  to  probe  to  the  bottom  of  such  a 
wound  as  this." 

"  Will  you  not  let  me  help  you  to  solve  this  grave 
problem  ? " 

"  Not  to-night.  There  may  be  questions  I  shall  wish  to 
ask  you  and  Mrs.  Talbert ;  but  not  yet.  The  capital 
operation  is  suicidal,  and  can  be  done  by  no  other  hand 
than  mine." 

"  Well,  so  be  it.  Captain  Talbert  has  been  telling  us 
this  afternoon  that  you  are  to  have  the  ship  when  we 
arrive  at  Honolulu.  He  will  return  home,  and  you  are  to 
continue  the  voyage  as  master." 

"  Ah,  that  is  news  to  me.  I  knew  that  I  was  to  have 
the  ship  after  we  have  filled  her." 

"  His  statement  was  very  explicit.  So  you  see,  dear 
friend,  that  you  should  plan  your  plans  anew.  The  future 
is  bright  and  beautiful  before  you." 

"  Yet  ambition  is  now  as  dead  within  me  as  the 
wooden  gunwale  beneath  my  hand." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Raymond,  be  strong,  be  noble  !  It  is  your 
nature,  and  your  birthright,  to  be  brave  and  good.  For 
get  this  corroding  grief,  and  tell  your  little  friend  where 
you  will  make  your  voyage  when  you  become  captain  of 
the  beautiful  ship  "  ;  but  she  could  elicit  no  reply. 

All  unwittingly,  the  girl's  hand  stole  into  the  cold  palm 
of  her  sad  and  silent  companion.  Raymond  clasped  the 
warm,  soft  fingers,  without  a  thought  of  what  he  was  doing. 
His  perceptions  were  sluggish,  for  the  moment ;  and  his 


394  The  Fleetwing. 

heart  so  pre-occupied  that  he  did  not  even  note  the  quick, 
pleasurable  thrills  that  ran  riot  through  his  frame,  im 
parted  by  the  sympathetic  touch  of  the  winsome  girl. 

For  a  long  half-hour  they  remained  in  the  boat,  dumb  as 
statues.  Tireless  and  tongueless,  Asenith  sat  clinging  to 
Raymond's  hand,  trebly  content  with  her  situation  at  his 
side ;  with  the  solitude  and  the  fostering  shelter  of  the 
darkness  ;  and  with  the  oblivious  mood  of  her  companion, 
though  he  ignored  her  very  existence. 

It  seemed  to  the  bewildered  girl  almost  like  a  full  con 
summation  of  her  wishes.  Her  heart  was  full  to  the  brim 
with  affection  for  Raymond  at  that  moment ;  exulting  to 
the  glad  timbrel  of  the  mimic  seas ;  beating  in  unison  with 
the  bell-music  of  the  little  waves  as  they  purled  up  into 
tiny  crests,  and  ran  romping  after  each  other.  Above  all, 
she  was  entranced  with  the  roguish  smacks  of  the  kissing 
billows,  as  they  leaped  in  childish  rapture  against  the 
smooth  copper  of  the  ship. 

The  girl's  eyes  and  ears  became  attuned  to  every  sight 
and  sound  about  her.  While  noting  the  alternate  sighs 
and  tumultuous  breathing  of  her  loved  companion,  she 
lent  an  ear  to  the  soft  rising  breeze  as  it  gently  careened 
the  vessel,  till  ship  and  moon  leaned  tenderly  over  toward 
each  other,  like  lovers  seeking  a  good-night  greeting. 

She  watched  the  slow  westing  of  the  baby  moon  as  it 
sank  to  rest,  and  saw  her  waning  light  glimmering  its 
farewell  sheen  on  the  dusky  sails.  Saw  the  vast  pyramid 
of  canvas  clinging  like  a  ghostly  mist  about  the  invisible 
masts,  as  unreal  as  clouds,  floating  along  with  the  ship, 
while  the  vessel  glided  on  into  the  impenetrable  gloom. 

The  moon   had  nearly  set  when  Raymond  aroused  to 


Phantom  Kisses.  395 

the  conviction  that  he  had  a  companion  at  his  side. 
Realizing  that  the  hour  was  late,  he  admonished  Asenith 
that  it  was  time  she  were  in  bed.  As  the  fond  girl  still 
clung  fast  to  his  hand,  without  offering  to  move,  mechani 
cally  he  gave  voice  to  his  thoughts.  Pointing  to  the  last 
little  finger-tip  of  the  crescent  lingering  above  the  sea,  he 
said  :  — 

"  That  streak  of  moon  is  a  fateful  thing,  more  ominous 
to  us  than  we  know.  It  points  us  onward  to  the  south, 
away  from  the  dear  home-land,  for  which  we  long,  but 
which  we  shall  not  see  for  many  a  long  year." 

And  again  he  dropped  into  silence.  It  seemed  as  if  his 
thoughts  had  been  of  home,  and,  tiring  of  the  hateful 
problem  which  he  had  failed  to  solve,  he  now  wished  that 
he  might  return,  and  confront  pretty  Mary  Tudor,  and  ask 
of  her  a  thoughtless  girl's  reason  for  a  heartless  girl's  act. 

When  the  moon  disappeared  over  the  ocean-rim,  and 
left  the  ship  and  sea  in  darkness,  a  dual  sigh  came  rust 
ling  down  out  of  the  quarter-boat,  then  low  voices  were 
heard  exchanging  a  tender  good-night  in  the  sudden 
gloom.  If  the  listening  ears  are  capable  of  vouching  for 
what  they  hear — competent  to  distinguish  between  the 
kisses  of  purling  waves  and  the  flesh-and-blood  kisses  of 
human  lips  —  then  a  kiss,  one  or  more,  was  heard  taking 
advantage  of  the  darkness,  as  many  a  maiden's  first-time 
kiss  has  been  known  to  do  before. 

To  just  what  category  of  osculation  these  phantom  lip- 
greetings  belong,  is  most  difficult  to  determine.  The  re 
spondent  kiss,  which  was  the  louder  of  the  two,  evidently 
came  from  an  overladen  heart ;  one  too  grief-stricken  to 
admit  being  in  love  with  the  charming  girl  at  his  side.  On 


The  Fleetwing. 

the  other  hand,  none  can  doubt  but  the  initial  kiss  meant 
more  in  Asenith  Allston's  heart  than  she  designed,  for  she 
was  a  free,  but  not  a  forward  girl. 

May  it  not  be  that  the  pretty  minx  had  so  long 
watched  the  moon  kissing  the  sails,  and  heard  the  waves 
kissing  the  ship,  that  her  little  head  got  bewildered  with 
the  delicious  smacks  seen  and  heard  about  her,  until  at 
length  her  impulsive  heart  leaped  to  her  mouth,  and  laid 
bare  her  love  upon  the  lips  of  the  man  she  adored  ?  A 
catastrophe  that  has  happened  to  many  another  maiden, 
when  lured  on  by  opportunity  and  darkness,  —  a  most 
alluring  pair. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE    BATTLE    OF    THE   GIANTS. 

TOURING  the  afternoon  of  the  third  day's  cruising  off 
*-'  River  La  Plata,  a  sail  hove  in  sight,  far  to  windward, 
heading  out  from  the  land.  The  vessel  was  supposed  to  be 
a  Monte  Video  craft  by  her  sluggish  movement,  coining  from 
Rat  Island,  and  no  interest  was  taken  in  her.  But  after  a 
while  she  squared  away  and  ran  down  before  the  wind, 
to  the  surprise  of  all,  as  if  she  wished  to  speak  the  Fleet- 
wing.  Even  then,  little  notice  was  taken  of  the  clumsy 
old  tub,  until  the  officer  aloft  called  out  to  say  that  she 
was  a  whaler. 

Captain  Talbert  ordered  the  mainsail  up,  and  backed 
the  mainyards.  The  ship  proved  to  be  the  Emerald, 
C  iptain  Bunkum,  a  century-old  vessel  from  Nantuckct. 
She  was  homeward  bound,  forty  months  out,  with  but  two 
thousand  barrels  of  sperm-oil.  They  had  seen  whales 
enough  to  fill  four  ships,  but  drunkenness  and  mismanage 
ment  were  at  the  bottom  of  their  ill-luck. 

Captain  Bunkum,  and  his  profane  brother  Bill,  the  sec 
ond  mate,  came  aboard  and  spent  the  evening.  Bunkum 
\vns  going  to  cruise  there  a  month,  hoping  to  add  some 
thing  to  his  poor  voyage.  He  could  hardly  believe  his 
ears  when  told  of  the  Fleetwing's  success.  Unlucky  as 
he  was,  he  was  nevertheless  a  wise  old  sperm-whaler.  He 

397 


398  The  Fleetwing. 

advised  to  cruise  toward  the  shore  in  the  forenoon,  and 
head  offshore  in  the  afternoon,  to  keep  the  sun  at  the  back 
of  the  lookouts.  Bunkum  had  seen  whales  thereabout 
several  times,  but  had  got  none.  Something  had  happened 
to  prevent,  he  said,  —  his  rummy  breath  was  sufficient  hint 
of  what  it  might  have  been.  When  the  captains  separated, 
Bunkum  promised  to  run  off  five  miles  during  the  night, 
that  one  ship  should  not  interfere  with  the  other's  chance 
the  next  day. 

Raymond  was  not  well  pleased  with  what  he  had  seen 
aboard  the  Emerald,  nor  the  drunken  company  he  found 
there.  It  was  a  scene  of  filth  and  indolence  ;  everything 
hanging  with  fag-ends.  Tidy  old  Ben  and  Tom  were  also 
disgusted.  Buntline  said :  "  Sweepin'  decks,  'board  o' 
there,  means  ter  hide  yer  dirt  'hind  casks,  an'  under  Chip's 
work-bench.  An'  poor  whiskey  was  tuck  at  meal  times, 
'stead  o'  coffee  an'  t'a." 

Early  the  next  morning,  when  the  hands  were  called 
out  to  make  sail,  it  was  discovered  that  the  Emerald  had 
played  sharp  practice  on  the  Fleetwing.  Instead  of 
running  off  five  miles  to  leeward,  as  agreed  upon  the  night 
before,  she  had  taken  position  four  miles  ahead  of  the 
Fleetwing,  leaving  the  latter  to  follow  over  the  grounds 
which  the  former  had  overlooked. 

There  was  a  howl  of  indignation  among  the  men,  while 
making  sail ;  and  they  wove  in  an  angry  chorus  about  the 
contemptible  Bunkum,  every  sail  they  hoisted.  Raymond 
was  so  piqued  at  the  unfair  transaction  that  he  ordered 
every  drawing  sail  set.  Bracing  up  sharp,  and  keeping 
near  to  the  wind,  yet  rap-full,  the  fine  sailing  qualities  of 
the  ship  soon  took  her  abeam  of  the  Emerald,  and  about  two 


Lowering  for  Whales.  399 

miles  to  windward.  This  course  was  held  until  after 
breakfast,  when  the  ship  was  two  miles  ahead,  and  three 
miles  to  windward  of  her  companion. 

Braybrook  was  aloft,  and  hailed  the  deck  to  say  that 
the  Emerald  was  keeping  away  a  little  ;  and  that  several 
extra  men  had  gathered  at  her  mastheads,  some  of  whom 
were  pointing  spyglasses  down  off  their  lee-bow ;  but  as 
yet  nothing  could  be  seen. 

The  mate  had  the  best  eyesight  in  the  ship,  and  at  a 
hint  from  the  captain  he  caught  up  his  glass  and  went 
aloft  to  help  Braybrook  scan  the  ground  closely.  The 
whales  were  down,  and  nothing  could  be  seen  ;  yet  both 
officers  were  satisfied  that  whales  had  been  seen  from  the 
Emerald  and  advised  the  ship's  being  kept  boldly  away; 
taking  the  chance  of  being  up  with  the  school  in  time  to 
lower  with  the  Emerald.  This  was  done.  Yards  were 
squared  in,  spanker  and  mainsail  brailed  up,  and  the 
course  laid  so  as  to  bisect  the  Emerald's  track  two  miles 
ahead  of  her  present  position. 

After  the  Fleetwing  had  run  off  a  mile  and  a  half,  a 
small  breach  was  seen  right  ahead,  about  three  miles 
distant.  The  Emerald  kept  away,  heading  for  the  whales, 
she  being  about  half  a  mile  the  nearest ;  and  as  the  wind 
was  dropping,  she  hoisted  her  boats,  ready  to  lower  at  a 
moment's  notice.  The  two  ships  ran  down  within  a  mile 
of  the  whales,  which  proved  to  be  a  large  school  of  cows 
and  calves  ;  and  promised  a  good  catch  for  both  ships, 
whichever  boats  should  fasten  first. 

The  three  larboard  boats  were  lowered  from  both  ships. 
The  two  captains  remained  on  board  to  direct  matters. 
The  Emerald's  boats  imprudently  took  oars,  as  well  as 


400  TJie  Fleetwing. 

sails,  which  compelled  the  Fleetwing's  boats  to  do  the 
same,  even  at  the  risk  of  startling  the  whales.  This 
incident  showed  a  spirit  of  desperation,  if  not  unfairness, 
in  Bunkum,  at  the  start.  It  said,  plain  as  words :  If  we 
can't  catch  the  whales,  you  sha'n't. 

By  shooting  his  boat  out  from  under  the  lee-bow  quickly. 
Bailey  got  the  start  of  the  others,  and  kept  the  lead  to  the 
end.  The  old  man's  movements  were  more  sprightly  and 
aggressive  than  usual,  and  it  was  afterwards  made  known 
that  he  knew,  at  the  start,  that  the  day  was  his.  The 
bow-boat  was  the  best  puller  on  board.  Thus  the  other 
two  officers  were  well  satisfied  to  pit  Joe  Bailey,  and  his 
fast  boat,  against  the  boastful  Bill  Bunkum,  who  had 
grossly  insulted  their  venerable  old  shipmate  the  day 
before. 

This  disagreeable  Bunkum  purposely  strayed  away 
from  among  his  own  boats,  and  sidled  over  toward  the 
Fleetwing's ;  with  the  malicious  intent  of  pulling  in  ahead  of 
Uncle  Joe,  and  depriving  him  of  all  chance  at  the  whales. 
This  seemed  all  the  more  aggravating  when  there  were 
countless  numbers  of  whales  directly  under  the  lee  of  the 
Emerald.  This  incident  engendered  bad  blood  at  the 
start,  but  the  sequel  proved  more  than  satisfactory. 

Though  all  the  six  boats  dashed  along  at  a  spanking 
rate,  the  two  antagonistic  boats  easily  kept  the  lead,  and 
seemed  well  matched  for  speed,  keeping  about  equidistant 
from  the  whales.  Just  when  all  eyes  aboard  the  ships 
were  eagerly  watching  to  see  Bailey  and  Bunkum  fasten, 
up  popped  a  school  of  big  killers,  —  sea  bloodhounds  of 
the  whale  species,  —  and  dashed  furiously  among  the 
whales.  This  so  alarmed  the  motherly  cows  for  their 


Bunkum  and  Bailey.  401 

calves,  that  they  hastily  secured  their  young,  and  ran 
heads  out,  fast  as  they  could  bolt,  to  leeward.  The  ships 
kept  away  and  followed  on  after  the  boats,  which  could 
look  for  no  chance  to  fasten  at  present. 

After  an  hour's  hard  harrying  of  the  school,  the 
killers  devoured  their  fill  of  calves,  and  gave  up  the  chase. 
The  whales  soon  began  to  slow  up,  and  run  at  a  more 
moderate  pace  ;  not  quite  so  fast  as  the  boats  could  sail. 
During  the  fracas  with  the  killers,  Bunkum  and  Bailey 
kept  along  nip-and-tuck,  within  easy  hail,  neither  per 
mitting  the  other  to  get  the  lead ;  and  without  any  special 
incentive  to  buckle  to  their  oars  in  such  a  long-winded 
race. 

Soon  after  the  killers  left,  a  large  cow,  having  a  small 
calf  which  could  no  longer  hold  on  to  her  back,  straggled 
out  astern  of  the  school,  right  ahead  of  Uncle  Joe.  After 
pulling  a  few  strokes  and  observing  that  Bunkum  did  not 
attempt  to  deprive  him  of  his  chance,  the  old  veteran 
peaked  his  oars  and  endeavored  to  approach  the  whale 
carefully  under  sail. 

Bunkum  kept  straight  on  ahead  with  his  oars,  as  if 
innocently  intent  upon  his  own  business,  and  wholly 
oblivious  of  the  bow-boat's  chance.  But  when  his  boat 
had  gained  about  three  times  her  length  in  advance  of 
Bailey's,  and  he  saw  that  he  could  sheer  quickly  off  and 
steal  the  lead  from  his  black  brother,  he  could  not  resist 
the  temptation,  and  wheeled  and  pulled  for  Uncle  Joe's 
whale  like  a  madman. 

Finding  himself  tricked  by  the  white  wretch,  fired  Joe 
Bailey  with  righteous  indignation ;  and  he  took  to  his 
oars,  determined  to  regain  his  lost  ground.  The  Nan- 


402  TJic  Fleetwing. 

tucket  crew  had  been  long  inured  to  pulling  during  their 
forty  months'  voyage,  and  they  handled  their  oars  with 
consummate  skill.  Their  well  limbered  boat  was  as  pliant 
on  the  water  as  an  eel,  yielding  easily  to  the  sinuous  rise 
and  fall  of  the  sea.  These  were  great  advantages  over 
Bailey's  firm  new  boat,  and  the  lack  of  uniform  motion  in 
his  less  practised  crew. 

But  Bailey's  boat  was  longer ;  built  upon  finer  lines ; 
and  was  handled  at  the  steering-oar  with  much  greater 
intelligence  than  Bunkum's.  The  Bedford  boat  was  the 
fastest  of  all  the  cedar  shells  of  the  Fleetwing,  and,  if 
equally  well  handled,  would  outspeed  the  other. 

As  to  the  boat-headers,  it  was  'Tucket  against  'Tucket, 
as  to  their  birthright,  and  any  other  prestige  —  except 
color  —  that  the  famous  sand  Island  could  impart  of  merit 
to  her  skilled  race  of  whalemen. 

However  evenly  balanced  the  boats  might  be,  Joe 
Bailey  was  steadily  gaining  on  his  opponent,  though  it  was 
questionable  if  there  was  sufficient  time  to  pass  Bunkum 
before  he  could  strike  the  whale.  But  a  new  element  of 
vantage  now  arose.  The  excitable  'Sconset  man  grew  so 
fidgety  at  the  steady  gain  of  his  black  rival  that  he  soon 
checked  the  speed  of  his  own  boat  by  stamping,  swearing, 
and  dancing  round  the  stern-sheets  while  importuning  his 
crew  to  greater  exertions. 

On  the  contrary,  Uncle  Joe  kept  time  to  every  move 
ment  of  the  boat,  as  she  surged  clown  over  the  long  loping 
seas ;  thus  helped,  rather  than  deterred  her  speed,  with 
the  rhythmic  swaying  motion  of  his  ungainly  body.  This 
vantage  was  so  evident  to  the  Nantucket  spouter,  that  he 
fairly  boiled  with  rage  ;  hurtling  his  vile  maledictions  upon 
his  men,  in  most  unseemly  manner. 


Nip-and-  Tuck.  403 

"  What,  'Tuckets  !  Is  we  uns  to  be  beaten  by  ar  damned 
right-whaler ?  Pull,  you  infernal  devils!"  shouted  the 
bilious  brute,  as  he  threw  down  his  seedy  hat,  and  jumped 
on  it.  "  Will  yer  let  thet  durned  one-eyed  niggar  pass  us? 
Buckle  to  yer  oars,  yer  low-lived  cusses  ;  if  there's  ar  drop 
o'  white  blood  in  yer  veins  "  ;  and  he  danced  and  swore  to 
the  tune  of  his  own  vituperations. 

"  Doan  yer  min'  dem  yar  wicked  white  folks,  chilun," 
exclaimed  the  saintly  old  man,  who  had  become  soft  as 
pussy-down,  while  Bunkum's  oaths  rattled  about  his  ears. 
"  Pull  har-r-d,  honeys.  A  lon-n-g,  lubly  stroke.  Eh,  ar, 
dat's  um  !  See  'er  scoot,  on  de  top  ob  dat  sea ;  "  and  the 
sweet-tempered  old  darkey  grew  brimful  of  fun  as  he 
witnessed  the  rage  of  his  white  brother;  who,  having 
stolen  another  man's  chance  at  a  whale,  showed  an  amaz 
ing  dislike  at  being  chased  as  a  thief. 

"  Do  yer  hear  thet  niggar  ?  Blast  him !  he's  laffin  at 
we  old  sparm- whalers ;  'cause  we  can't  pull  ar  boat. 
Confound  yer.  wake  up  !  Pull,  an'  yer  shall  have  plum- 
duff  fur  dinner  every  day."  The  poor  fellows  rarely  got  it 
once  a  week.  Bunkum  had  purposely  changed  his  tune 
—  experimentally,  —  aping  the  soft  words  of  his  ebony 
brother  in  the  other  boat. 

"  Pull  hard,  Jose  boy ;  an',  honey,  ke'p  yer  port  eye  on 
yer  ole  farder.  When  dis  yer  one  peeper  winks,  den,  sah, 
peak  de  oar  queek  ;  and  put  in  de  irons."  Jose  scowled 
ferociously,  and  nodded  assent ;  somewhat  as  a  mastiff 
might  show  his  teeth,  and  growl. 

"  Blast  yer  souls !  See  thet  niggar  gain  on  us."  The 
fickle  Bunkum  had  relented  of  his  good  streak,  and  again 
fell  back  upon  his  oaths  ;  tuning  up  to  the  highest  notes 


404  The  Fleetwing, 

in  his  gamut.  "  Who  is  it  what  don't  pull  in  this  ere 
boat?  I'm  twiggin'  yer;  an',  by  hokey !  I'll  punch  ther 
head  of  any  cuss  what  lets  up  a  ha'r." 

"  Dat's  um,  chilun  !  Let  out  nuther  link,  honey  dears. 
Dar  we  scoot !  Dar  we  lap  enter  'im.  Sorry  fur  dat  po' 
Nan-Tucket  pusson.  How  de  'Sconset  folks  wul  laf  at  Mm, 
fur  gittin'  beat  by  ar  spec'ble  culled  genlem.  How  lubly 
dat  ar  Misser  Bunkum  mus'  feel ;  he  swar'  so  dreffly." 

Just  then  the  school  dipped  under  water  for  a  few  min 
utes.  While  the  whales  were  down,  the  bow-boat  gained 
so  as  to  lap  half  her  length  forward  on  the  Nantucket 
boat.  When  the  whales  came  up,  the  boats  had  ap 
proached  quite  near  to  them  ;  but  instead  of  the  amiable 
white  sinner  keeping  out  on  his  side  of  the  whale  s  wakt, 
he  crowded  over  upon  the  ebony  saint,  so  as  almost  to 
lock  oars.  Bunkum  kept  square  behind  the  whale,  until 
close  upon  her  flukes,  and  then  attempted  to  thrust  his 
boat  over  between  Uncle  Joe  and  the  whale.  This  rude 
act  riled  the  saintly  old  man  beyond  endurance ;  and 
prompted  him  to  something  desperate. 

"  Stand  up,  Coffin  ! "  yelled  Bunkum  with  a  ringing 
oath.  "  Take  her,  soon  ez  yer  can  reach  the  hump.  Put 
one  iron  inter  the  whale,  an'  t'other  inter  thet  damned 
niggar !  " 

The  bow  of  Bunkum's  boat  was  just  then  ranging  up 
over  the  flukes,  in  his  mad  attempt  to  go  forward  on  the 
starboard  side  of  the  whale.  Coffin  peaked  his  oar, 
leaped  to  his  feet,  clutched  his  iron,  and  glared  savagely 
around  at  the  black  boat-steerer,  just  then  drawing  up 
abreast  of  him ;  as  if  meditating  the  murderous  act  which 
he  was  ordered  to  do. 


Stovcn  F>oat.  40$ 

"Pull  hard,  honeys.  Few  mo'  strokes,  an'  dat  whale 
am  ourn.  Neber  min'  dat  wicked  Misser  Bunkum.  Ef  et 
cum  ter  harpoonin'  niggars,  hyah  !  dar's  two  genlem  can 
play  et  dat  game." 

The  old  man  grinned  with  a  comical  chuckle,  as  he 
took  in  the  delicate  situation  of  his  opponent  and  saw  the 
other  boat  lapped  well  up  on  the  flukes;  Coffin  standing 
there  with  his  iron  drawn  back,  ready  for  the  word  to  dart. 
The  Christian  brother  could  wait  no  longer  for  the  bap 
tismal  act  which  he  contemplated.  The  one  lone  peeper 
blinked  like  a  setting  star. 

Up  leaped  the  ferocious  Jose,  and  grasped  his  harpoon. 
Bending  his  long  snakish  body  back  over  the  bowman,  he 
let  fly  his  huge  iron  over  the  head  of  the  other  boat,  pierc 
ing  home  among  the  bone  and  sinews  of  the  whale's 
small ;  the  wickedest  of  all  places  to  induce  kicking. 

Quick  as  a  flash,  the  wounded  whale  let  fly  a  tremen 
dous  up-cut  with  her  flukes,  cutting  off  six  feet  of  the  Emer 
ald's  boat  at  the  bow ;  and  sending  the  long  gaunt  boat- 
steerer  flying  fifty  feet  in  the  air.  The  whale  stopped 
short,  and  Bailey's  boat  shot  forward  sufficiently  for  Jose 
to  drive  home  his  second  iron  under  the  hump  of  the  kick 
ing  whale. 

No  one  was  seriously  hurt  among  the  Emerald's  crew, 
but  an  acre  of  sprawling  legs  and  arms  came  tumbling 
from  aloft :  followed  by  the  mast  and  sail,  which  covered 
the  uninjured  Coffin,  as  with  a  white  shroud,  where  he  lay 
sprawling  on  the  water,  upheld  by  an  oar. 

Bunkum's  end  of  the  stoven  boat  filled,  and  rolled  bot 
tom  up.  Upon  this,  the  big- bellied  officer  climbed  ;  after  a 
deal  of  puffing,  swearing,  and  spluttering  water  —  as  pro- 


The  Fleetwing. 

fanity  seemed  to  be  his  chief  propelling  power  in  swim 
ming,  as  well  as  rowing.  The  crew  were  floating  around 
on  oars  and  paddles,  endeavoring  to  pick  up  some  of  their 
personal  wreckage  of  hats  and  coats. 

"  Eh,  ar,  dat's  um,  Jose  Verd !  T'ank  de  Lawd  fur 
h'istin'  dat  ere  po'  sinner !  "  exclaimed  Uncle  Joe,  in  the 
pious  fervor  of  his  heart,  when  he  saw  no  one  had  been 
killed. 

"  Peak  de  oars,  chilun.  Wet  de  line,  tub-oarsman. 
Dem  yare  white  folks  mus'n't  wenture  'tween  dis  ole  nig 
an'  him  Dinah  whale.  'Tain't  ar  pruper  ting  ter  do ;  no 
sah-ee ! " 

The  school  felt  the  shock  as  well  as  Bunkum,  though 
they  did  not  swear  ;  but  they  sounded  straight  downward, 
leaving  the  bow-boat's  people  a  much  needed  breathing- 
spell  in  which  to  look  about  them.  Uncle  Joe's  risibles 
were  gleefully  affected  by  the  lively  aquatic  scene  wit 
nessed  about  a  ship's  length  astern  of  his  boat. 

"  Mussy  seks !  How  butiful  dose  yar  'Tucket  folkes 
duz  swim.  Hyah !  ef  dare  ain't  dat  wicked  old  brudcler 
Bunkum,  shinin'  up  atop  ob  'is  yallar-bottom  boat ;  zactly 
like  ar  seal  on  de  rock."  Just  here  Uncle  Joe's  soliloquy 
was  interrupted  by  a  yell,  akin  to  that  of  a  famished 
wolf :  — 

"  Blood  an'  thunder  !  Here,  you  durned  infernal  nig- 

gar  !  Slack  out  yer  line,  an'  pick  me  up;  or  by " 

Bunkum's  unholy  demonstrations  were  terminated  sud 
denly.  Though  he  did  not  explode,  as  one  might  expect, 
he  expanded  with  such  violent  combustion  that  he  jostled 
the  boat,  and  was  soused  over  backwards  into  the  sea. 
This  made  him  so  mad  that  it  required  the  utmost  exer- 


Bill  BJs  Wrath.  407 

tion  of  his  stern  propellers  and  side-wheels  to  get  him 
safely  back  upon  the  yellow-bottomed  boat  again. 

Much  to  the  surprise  of  all,  the  water-soaked  Mr.  Bun 
kum  seemed  just  as  profane  as  his  counterpart  —  the  dry- 
clad,  swearing  Bill  B.  —  for  even  after  a  second  rescue 
from  the  wet  water  about  him,  the  dripping  Bill  rattled  off 
a  string  of  oaths  long  as  the  main-bowline. 

There  he  sat  astride  of  the  wrecked  boat,  from  which 
he  drove  all  others  of  the  crew,  poking  the  long  wet  hair 
from  his  pimpled  face  and  lobster-colored  nose  ;  shaking 
his  pondrous  fist  at  Joe  Bailey,  the  merry  man  of  peace, 
who  replied  gleefully  to  Bunkum's  impotent  rage  :  — 

"  Why,  bress  yer,  brudder  Bunkum,  dis  niggar  did  hope 
yo'  uns  would  hab  ar  change  ob  heart  arter  two  baptisms. 
Mus'  be,  brudder  Bill,  dat  yo'  uns  am  ar  dreffle  wicked, 
hard-shell  baptis',  sah.  But  p'raps  yo'  won't  steal  no  mo' 
whales.  Eh,  brudder  Bill  ?  " 

"  You  slack  out,  an'  pick  us  up ;  or  blood  an'  blazes  !  ef 
I  don't  bung  yer  udder  eye  wus'n  Mocha  Dick  ever 
did." 

"Tut,  tut,  sah;  yo'  am  preachin'  frum  de  wrong  tex. 
P'raps  yo'  wud  like  ter  harpoon  dis  brack  brudder  ?  Tell 
yer  what,  Bill  Bunkum,  yo'  sartinly  makes  ar  werry 
spect'ble  lookin'  puffin'  pig,  histed  up  atop  ob  dat  ar 
yallar  boat." 

And  the  old  darkey  laughed  with  a  malicious  relish 
over  the  sad  pickle  of  the  unrepentant  spouter  who  had 
feloniously  attempted  to  defraud  him  of  his  whale.  And 
Uncle  Joe  actually  let  his  boat  drift  back  within  easy 
talking  distance  of  the  pugnacious  Bill,  that  he  might 
taunt  the  profane  wretch  with  his  sins  of  omission,  rather 


408  Tlie  Fleetwing. 

than  commission,  because  of  his  ill-success  in  stealing  the 
whale  of  a  poor  old  nigger  man. 

Just  then  the  school  "  milled  "  short  round,  under  wa 
ter,  and  started  to  windward,  the  fast  whale  among  them. 
The  two  ships  lay  hove  to  about  a  mile  off.  The  boats, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Emerald's  third  mate  —  who 
was  pulling  for  the  stoven  boat  —  were  keeping  the 
weather-gauge  of  the  fast  whale,  waiting  for  the  school  to 
come  up. 

Uncle  Joe  called  his  boat-steerer  aft,  and  went  forward 
to  prepare  for  work.  "  Cum  aft,  heah,  Jose,  yo'  lubly 
niggar,  what  did  yo'  work  so  butiful.  Clar  de  lance  dar, 
niggar  Jim.  Dere  dey  cums  up,  chilun.  Hitch  on,  an' 
haul  de  line." 

As  the  boat  started  ahead,  Mr.  Bailey  turned  to  take  a 
mock  farewell  of  the  man  whom  he  so  greatly  despised. 
Lifting  his  palm-leaf  hat  gracefully,  he  bowed  politely  to 
the  enraged  blubber-hunter  on  the  stoven  boat,  whose 
hatless  head  and  purple  face  seemed  ready  to  burst  at  the 
mock  courtesy  of  his  black  brother.  The  whales  came 
up,  and  these  doughty  whaling  knights  parted  forever. 

The  last  seen  of  the  demoralized  Bill  Bunkum,  there 
was  a  brimstone-colored  cloud  hovering  about  his  impious 
head,  which  emitted  flashes  like  a  volcanic  eruption.  Pos 
sibly  this  was  but  a  yellow  gleam  reflected  from  the 
bottom  of  his  boat,  and  not  sulphur  fumes,  as  was  sup 
posed.  But  the  bow-boat's  crew  never  ceased  to  believe 
that  it  was  the  natural  effect  of  Bunkum's  terribly  pungent 
oaths,  which  must  have  ignited  like  tinder,  when  he  con 
templated  the  joyous'  success  of  the  "  durned  one-eyed 
niggar  "  whom  he  had  failed  to  outwit. 


Uncle  Joe  in  the  School.  409 

"  Coil  de  line  clar,  Jose,  'cause  dish  chile  gwine  ter 
grease  cle  lance  in  sum  dose  critters.  Dish  yere  cullud 
pusson  am  'spected  to  do  suffin  fur  de  caus'  ob  de  'suited 
brack  man." 

The  jolly  old  whaleman  chuckled  at  the  good  things 
which  he  contemplated.  His  sagacity  and  experience  led 
him  to  behold  all  the  elements  of  a  successful  whale-hunt 
in  a  school  of  cows  and  calves  which  had  been  thor 
oughly  frightened  by  killers.  Before  the  line  could  be 
hauled  in,  the  fast  whale  had  wiggled  herself  and  calf  into 
the  middle  of  the  school. 

As  the  whales  approached  the  ships,  the  two  captains 
lowered  their  boats,  and  lay  on  their  oars,  hoping  to  strike 
as  the  school  passed.  The  other  boats  were  to  leeward, 
pulling  lustily  after  the  fast  boat,  which  had  just  got 
among  the  hindmost  whales. 

"  Here  we  is,  honeys,  rite  'mong  de  schule.  Dat'll 
do  de  line,  chilun.  Clar  de  third  iron,  an'  gimme  ar 
drug." 

Bending  the  two  implements  on  to  a  five-fathom 
warp,  Uncle  Joe  watched  his  chance  to  fling  a  deadly  iron 
into  a  loose  whale.  Gathering  quickly  in  on  the  line,  the 
boat  ran  alongside  of  a  large  cow.  and  Bailey  let  fly  into 
her  life.  Blood  followed,  and  the  whale  slacked  back, 
until  Braybrook  caught  up  with  it  and  fastened,  holding  on 
till  she  turned  up,  so  that  he  could  waif  her. 

Seeing  the  mate  close  astern,  Uncle  Joe  lanced  a  loose 
whale  and  brought  blood.  Raymond  pulled  up  and 
secured  her.  This  second  whale  followed  after  the  school 
till  she  died,  leaving  the  mate  in  good  position  for 
another, 


4IO  The  Fleetwing. 

The  captains  met  the  school  just  then.  Their  boat- 
steerers  stood  up,  irons  in  hand,  apparently  sure  of  a 
chance.  But  some  sharp-eyed  cow  caught  sight  of  the 
boats,  and  down  went  the  whole  body,  running  to  wind 
ward  of  the  ships  while  they  were  sounding.  The  bow- 
boat  took  that  time  to  prepare  two  other  drug  irons.  To 
one  iron  was  attached  a  paddle,  and  to  the  other  a  large 
sealskin  buoy. 

When  the  school  came  up,  the  fast  whale  still  led  the 
herd,  but  there  were  two  fat  cows,  with  small  calves,  strag 
gling  a  little  one  side  of  the  trailing  line.  An  inexpe 
rienced  person  could  not  conceive  how  the  boat  could  be 
made  to  reach  them.  Uncle  Joe  eyed  the  fat  prizes  a 
moment,  and  saw  that  the  two  captains  were  pulling 
quickly  up  astern  of  him.  Saintly  old  darkey  that  he  was, 
he  felt  an  unchristian  desire  to  possess  both  whales ;  at 
least  he  would  deprive  the  man  Bunkum  from  catching 
either  of  them  :  — 

"  Jose  !  yo'  seed  dem  yare  two  mudder  cows  ?  " 

"  Yis,  ob  course  I  duz,"  growled  the  black  barbarian. 

"An'  duz  yer  seed  dat  are  ole  Cap'in  Bunkum  pullin' 
up  dar  fur  one  on  um  ? " 

For  answer,  the  surly  boat-steerer  showed  his  rows  of 
white  teeth,  and  snarled  like  a  terrier. 

"  Well,  deny  tek  yo'  oar  and  put  dish  niggar  rite  ober 
'tween  dem  critters;  same  ez  yo'  put  'lasses  'tween  two 
flapjacks." 

Jose's  eyes  lit  up  like  two  burnt  holes  in  a  blanket. 
Grappling  his  steering-oar,  he  thrust  it  hard  over  to  port. 
The  boat  swerved  well  to  starboard,  near  enough  to  reach 
one  of  the  whales;  but  that  was  not  satisfactory,  as  was 
manifest  from  a  deeply  muttered  oath  in  Portuguese. 


Po   CJiile,  Doan  Swar.  411 

"Well,  well,  honey  dear;  doan  yer  sw'ar,  like  dat  ole 
Bill  Bunkum  ;  'cause,  Jose,  de  Lawd  am  wid  us  ter-day." 

But  a  glance  behind  showed  that  Captain  Bunkum 
would  be  upon  them  in  five  minutes.  This  brought 
another  rumble  of  profanity  from  Jose. 

"Tut,  tut,  po'  chile  ;  duz  yo'  wanter  hab  dish  yere  boat 
stove  fur  sw'arin'  ?  Joe  Bailey  wull  help  yer  do  dat  lee- 
die  job." 

Taking  out  the  chock-pin,  Uncle  Joe  bowed  the  line 
over  to  the  port  cleat ;  and  in  an  instant  the  boat  swerved 
fairly  in  between  the  two  cows.  Captain  Bunkum's  crew 
were  pulling  hard  for  the  starboard  whale.  Into  that  one, 
Bailey  flung  a  drug-iron,  which  brought  thick  blood ;  and 
secured  the  whale  just  as  the  Emerald's  boat-steerer  was 
called  up  to  take  his  iron. 

Catching  up  his  lance,  the  old  darkey  turned  and  thrust 
it  into  the  port  whale,  bringing  good  blood  just  as  Captain 
Talbert  pulled  up  and  fastened.  The  two  cows,  which 
had  been  so  friendly  in  life,  continued  to  run  together  till 
they  died. 

This  double  transaction  caused  the  school  to  sound  and 
run  briskly,  dropping  Bunkum's  two  loose  boats  quickly 
astern.  An  event  which  induced  Captain  Bunkum  to  dis 
close  the  family  traits  of  profanity,  and  brotherly  love  for 
the  black  race  ;  Joe  Bailey  in  particular. 

Raymond  and  Braybrook  had  waifed  their  dead  whales, 
and  were  now  tugging  hard  at  the  oars  to  overtake  the 
school  while  it  was  down.  The  Emerald's  two  boats  were 
in  a  line  with  the  Fleetwing's,  so  matters  were  approach 
ing  a  crisis ;  but  Uncle  Joe  was  yet  master  of  the  situa 
tion.  Slacking  out  his  line,  he  took  Raymond's  boat  in 


412  The  Fleet-wing. 

tow,  and  again  hauled  back  over  the  running  school ;  tak 
ing  the  occasion  to  borrow  a  couple  of  harpoons  and 
drugs  from  the  mate. 

When  the  school  came  up,  the  larboard  boat  was 
dropped,  and  took  to  her  oars,  having  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
lead  of  the  other  boats.  There  was  a  pod  of  ten  whales 
about  the  fast  cow;  the  rest  of  the  school  were  widely 
scattered.  Uncle  Joe  hauled  in  among  the  pod  and 
lanced  three  whales  in  as  many  minutes  ;  two  of  which  he 
secured  with  the  mate's  drug-irons,  and  Raymond  secured 
the  third  one  by  fastening  to  it. 

The  whales  again  went  down ;  the  two  drugged  whales 
going  with  the  school.  Braybrook  sprang  ahead  and  was 
taken  in  tow  by  the  fast  boat,  which  gave  a  needed  rest  to 
his  men.  Uncle  Joe  secured  one  more  drug-iron  from 
the  waist-boat,  and  in  a  few  minutes  was  among  the  school 
again.  At  that  time,  he  lanced  two  whales,  throwing  a 
drug-iron  into  one  ;  and  Braybrook  secured  the  other. 

There  were  now  five  other  loose  whales  running  with 
the  fast  one.  Bailey  had  but  one  more  drug-iron  —  the 
one  with  a  paddle  attached  — and  to  lance  the  loose 
whales  would  be  to  kill  them  for  the  hated  Bunkum  and 
his  mate ;  then  tugging  away  close  astern,  ready  to  seize 
upon  any  lawful  prize  —  a  whale  not  harpooned. 

The  Fleetwing's  boats  were  fully  occupied  for  the  time 
and  still  there  were  three  drugged  whales  spouting  blood, 
and  following  after  the  school,  which  required  looking 
after,  while  the  Emerald's  boats  were  around.  For  a 
while  Uncle  Joe  forbore  lancing  other  whales  lest  they 
should  accrue  to  the  benefit  of  the  Bunkum  family ;  but 
fearing  they  would  steal  some  of  his  drugged  whales,  he 


One  More  Whale.  413 

finally  deemed  it  expedient  to  employ  the  pilfering  set  in 
looking  after  whales  of  their  own,  honestly  come  by. 

With  this  cunning  policy  in  mind,  the  old  whaleman 
again  hauled  into  the  pod,  lanced  two  whales,  and  watched 
them  slack  slowly  back  until  the  Emerald's  two  boats 
grappled  to  them,  almost  with  the  relish  of  taking  stolen 
property  ;  for  they  could  not  quite  believe  that  the  old 
darkey  contributed  them  for  a  purpose. 

Then  Uncle  Joe  hauled  in  between  his  own  whale  and 
another,  threw  his  last  drug-iron  into  the  loose  whale,  and 
lanced  and  killed  the  fast  one,  meaning  this  to  end  his 
day's  whaling. 

While  the  bow-boat  was  slacking  astern,  glad  of  obtain 
ing  a  moment's  rest  after  their  long,  laborious  slaughter 
ing,  up  popped  a  large  cow  close  along  the  opposite  side 
of  the  fast  whale.  The  instinct  of  the  old  whaleman  was 
too  strong  to  forbear  a  chance  so  tempting.  Uncle  Joe 
ordered  the  boat  forward  again,  and  reluctantly  flung  his 
lance  into  the  fourteenth  whale  of  that  day's  killing; 
almost  relenting,  when  he  saw  that  it  must  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  thievish  Bunkum,  for  want  of  a  harpoon  to 
secure  it. 

As  if  Bailey's  thought  became  parent  to  Bunkum's  act, 
the  latter  soon  after  cut  from  his  whale,  and  sprang  ahead 
on  his  oars,  to  secure  another.  This  so  riled  the  old 
darkey  that  his  inventive  genius  was  soon  brought  to 
bear.  Hauling  quickly  up  to  the  fast  whale,  which  was 
in  a  too  moribund  condition  to  have  much  feeling,  he 
seized  his  spade  and  proceeded  to  cut  out  the  second  iron, 
which  was  imbedded  in  the  thin  blubber  under  the  hump. 
Bunkum  saw  what  was  going  on,  and  hove  at  his  after  oar 
with  the  utmost  desperation,  savage  for  another  prize. 


414  Thg  Flcetiving. 

Bailey  was  none  too  quick,  for  hardly  had  he  got  the 
crooked  iron  out,  and  straightened  and  bent  on  to  his  line 
ready  for  a  fling,  before  Bunkum's  boat  dashed  up  to  the 
whale,  ready  for  action.  Just  as  the  Emerald's  boat- 
steerer  sprang  up  and  took  his  iron,  Uncle  Joe  let  fly  his 
harpoon  —  having  to  dart  far  over  the  fast  whale  to  reach 
the  loose  one  —  and  secured  his  whale.  But  this  did  not 
prevent  Bunkum's  boat  from  fastening,  ten  seconds  after, 
much  to  the  amazement  of  Joe  Bailey,  whose  iron  stood 
straight  up  in  the  whale's  back,  before  the  very  eyes  of  the 
boat-steerer. 

"  Here,  you  damned  niggar !  That's  our  whale.  My 
iron  was  in  fust.  Cut  off,  an'  begone  with  yer;  or  I'll 
punch  yer  head  !  "  yelled  the  belligerent  captain,  intent 
upon  a  bluff  game  with  the  meek-looking,  decrepit  old 
darkey ;  who  did  not  disclose  the  full  force  of  his  char 
acter  on  the  surface,  as  his  reply  denoted  :  — 

"  Hyah  !  yo',  Cap'n  Bunkum.  What's  yo'  up  ter,  sah  ? 
'Pears  like,  ter  dish  chile,  dat  dose  yar  brudder  Bunkums 
am  'bout  ob  ar  size  fur  stealin'.  Dar's  Misser  Bill ;  him 
tried  leedle  too  hard  ter  rob  dish  niggar  ob  dat  whale ; 
an'  de  Lawd  punished  'im  fur  it ;  an'  now  heah's  Cap'n 
Ben  am  gwine  ter  gobble  up  dish  one." 

During  this  angry  confab,  the  bow-boat  was  being 
drawn  up  close  to  the  new  whale,  the  Emerald's  boat 
following  close  astern.  Bailey  reached  down  with  a  boat- 
hook  and  grappled  Bunkum's  line  ;  hauled  it  up  and  cut 
the  Nantucket  thief  adrift  from  the  whale.  This  brought 
a  howl,  like  that  of  a  trapped  wolf :  — 

"  Damn  yer  black  soul !  How  dare  you  cut  off  my  line  ? 
I'll  maul  vour  life  out  if  I  eret  hold  on  yer." 


De  Debbie  s  Own  Niggar!  415 

"  See  yere,  yo',  Cap'n  Bunkum,  dish  cullud  pusson,  dat 
yo' is  sassin',  am  de  Lawd's  niggar ;  de  man  ob  peace, 
sah  ;  one  dat  lubs  him  brudder-man  wid  all  de  heart.  But, 
sah  !  dere's  nudcler  niggar  in  dish  yere  boat ;  de  debble's 
own  niggar  !  Dat  udder  Joe  Bailey,  what  doan  b'long  to 
de  Lawd.  A  wicked  niggar,  sah,  dat  lubs  ter  lock  horns 
wid  Satan.  A  niggar  dat  jist  wanter  dart  ar  lance  fru  any 
ole  Bunkum-man  dat  lubs  ter  steal  whales.  Hyah  !  yo' 
lyin'  ole  Bunkum !  Pull  up  dish  way,  queek  ;  an'  come  an' 
lock  horns  wid  de  debble's  niggar,  in  dish  boat.  Slack 
line  dere,  Jose  !  an'  lemme  git  ar  dart  at  dat  ole  scallowag 
Bunkum." 

And  true  enough,  there  did  seem  to  be  a  half-dozen 
strange-acting  negroes  in  the  bow  of  that  boat,  as  Joe 
Bailey  got  out  his  two  lances,  ready  for  action.  His 
usually  saintly  looking  face  was  contorted  like  a  demon's; 
and  his  one  lone  eye  was  flashing  like  a  madman's ;  while 
his  long  lank  body  writhed,  and  swayed  backward  and 
forward,  as  if  with  savage  impatience  to  get  a  dart  at  the 
thievish  Bunkum.  Captain  Ben  might  have  been  a  man 
of  passable  courage  under  some  more  favorable  circum 
stances  ;  but  a  more  scared  looking  wretch  never  was 
seen  than  the  man  Bunkum,  who  suddenly  took  to  his 
oars,  and  pulled  for  his  ship  ;  frequently  sending  a  furtive 
glance  behind,  as  if  in  mortal  fear  that  the  infuriated 
negro  was  on  his  track. 

The  Fleetwing's  boats  had  pulled  up  and  secured  all 
the  whales  but  the  three  with  Uncle  Joe.  Soon  as  the 
demonized  old  man  could  get  cooled  down  a  little,  he 
undertook  the  task  of  heading  his  trio  of  whales  round  to 
leeward.  Beginning  with  the  fast  whale,  he  made  shallow 


416  The  Flcctwing. 

lance-thrusts  near  around  the  starboard  eye,  which  soon 
had  the  effect  of  heading  the  cow  off  toward  the  other 
boats.  As  but  one  of  the  other  whales  followed  after,  the 
remaining  whale  had  to  be  left  behind,  for  the  ship  to 
keep  run  of,  till  it  died. 

When  the  bow-boat  passed  to  leeward  of  the  other 
boats,  the  ship  was  just  coming  to  pick  up  the  windward 
group  of  nine  dead  whales.  By  the  time  Bailey's  two 
whales  turned  up,  the  ship  was  seen  coming  down  before 
the  wind  with  her  nine  fat  prizes  in  tow.  Braybrook  had 
been  sent  to  windward  for  the  twelfth  whale,  which  died 
soon  after;  then  the  waist-boat  hooked  on,  and  towed 
toward  the  ship,  assisted  by  a  crew  of  shipkeepers  sent 
off  in  the  captain's  boat. 

The  sun  was  getting  low  when  the  last  of  the  twelve 
whales  was  secured  alongside.  But  it  required  many 
tacks  for  the  loggy  old  Emerald  to  beat  up  to  her  two  gift- 
whales,  —  from  Joe  Bailey's  lance,  —  and  the  sun  was  fairly 
set  before  she  reached  them.  She  was  about  a  mile  to 
the  south  of  the  Fleetwing  when  she  fluke-roped  her  two 
prizes. 

As  the  weather  promised  fair,  sail  was  shortened,  and 
the  Fleetwing  lay  by  her  whales  till  early  dawn.  It  was  a 
good  two  day's  work  before  the  last  carcass  was  cut  adrift, 
and  ten  clays  before  the  oil  was  wholly  taken  care  of. 
The  largest  of  the  fat  cows  made  forty-five  barrels;  but 
several  of  the  smallest  did  not  exceed  twenty ;  yet  the 
total  sum  was  good,  as  the  twelve  stowed  down  four  hun 
dred  and  twenty  barrels,  which  was  an  average  of  thirty- 
five. 

It  was  reported  by  the  boat-watchers  that  the  Emerald 


The  Last  of  Bunkum.  41  ^ 

kept  up  a  brilliant  flare  with  scraps  during  the  night ;  and 
it  was  thought,  by  the  numerous  lanterns  seen  flitting 
about,  that  she  cut  in  her  whales  before  midnight.  Before 
morning,  the  profane  and  thievish  Bunkums  had  taken 
themselves  off  to  parts  unknown ;  and  it  would  not  have 
been  pleasant  for  two  of  their  officers  to  face  Joe  Bailey, 
after  that  eventful  day's  work. 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 

DOUBLING   CAPE    HORN. 

TT  was  the  last  day  of  January  when  the  Fleetwing  ap 
proached  the  most  southern  of  all  straits,  the  Le  Maire. 
While  coasting  south  along  the  land  from  River  La  Plata, 
the  ship  had  been  favored  with  strong,  fair  winds  and 
pleasant  weather.  There  was  now  a  fair  promise  of  soon 
doubling  Cape  Horn,  and  going  on  their  way  into  the 
Pacific.  Captain  Talbert  had  intended  looking  for  right 
whales  while  passing  the  "  Main  Bank";  but  as  the  con 
tinuous  strong  winds  would  have  prevented  lowering  the 
boats,  the  ship  was  kept  on  her  course. 

At  noon,  January  31,  the  meridian  latitude  was  found 
to  be  54°.  While  striking  eight  bells,  land  was  raised 
from  the  topsail-yard.  It  was  Terra  del  Fuego,  the  high 
land  near  its  eastern  point.  The  ship  was  just  forty-one 
miles  due  north  of  the  Straits  of  Le  Maire,  through  winch 
she  would  pass  on  her  way  to  the  Cape,  the  captain 
having  prudently  avoided  going  to  the  east  of  Staten 
Island  —  the  old  beaten  track  —  where  the  weather  is 
more  boisterous,  and  a  strong  head-current  ever  meets  a 
south-bound  ship. 

It  was  now  blowing  a  clear  sunny  gale  from  the  north 
west,  and  the  proximity  to  the  Patagonian  coast  prevented 
the  seas  running  large.  The  ship  was  going  merrily  under 

418 


/g  Lc  Maire.  419 

double-reefed  topsails,  courses,  and  inner  jib,  steering 
south  by  east,  which  course  headed  her  fair  for  the  Straits, 
as  there  is  one  point  western  variation  of  the  compass  to 
be  allowed  for.  At  half-past  two  in  the  afternoon  the  ship 
passed  Cape  San  Diego  and  entered  Le  Maire.  The  Fleet- 
wing  had  made  seventeen  miles  an  hour  since  meridian,  as 
verified  by  the  noon  latitude,  and  the  observed  distance 
from  the  land ;  a  trifle  of  this  speed  might  be  attributed  to 
a  little  southern  current. 

The  gale  piped  on  very  hard  while  the  ship  was  running 
through  the  Straits,  and  it  took  the  fleet  thing  just  two 
hours  to  pass  clear  into  the  dread  Southern  Ocean.  The 
course,  as  was  carefully  noted,  when  coasting  close  along 
the  west  shore,  was  found  to  be  due  south  (by  compass), 
which  differs  greatly  from  the  trend  of  the  land  as  given 
on  the  charts  of  that  day.  These  exact  observations  came 
to  be  providential  in  the  near  future. 

During  several  days  back,  the  officers  had  noticed  that 
when  the  moon  set,  the  gale  shifted  from  northwest  to 
west,  and  sometimes  to  the  southwest.  This  phenomenon 
now  happened  again.  The  moon  set  three  hours  after  the 
ship  passed  Le  Maire,  and  the  gale  shifted  suddenly 
round  to  the  southwest,  dead  ahead  for  the  ship,  and 
before  midnight  it  had  hauled  to  the  south.  Cape  Horn 
was  like  to  prove  tricky  as  ever,  for  this  shift  of  wind 
brought  the  ship  on  a  lee-shore.  The  night  was  dark  and 
rainy,  with  heavy  seas,  and  a  strong  Antarctic  current  run- 
ing  to  the  east. 

This  situation  required  a  press  of  sail  to  be  kept  on 
the  ship,  to  hold  her  off  the  land  till  daylight.  When  day 
broke,  matters  were  no  better,  for  a  drizzly  rain  had 


420  The  Fleetwing. 

shut  down  upon  them,  and  land  could  not  be  seen  a  hun 
dred  fathoms  away.  But  the  vessel  was  still  kept  on  the 
western  tack,  that  she  might  lee-bow  the  eastern  current 
and  make  less  drift  towards  the  land.  It  was  an  anxious 
time  for  all ;  the  old  croakers  were  silent  and  sullen,  and 
would  have  relished  making  a  sacrifice  of  a  certain  saintly 
resident  of  the  cabin.  Working  thus,  in  a  current-way, 
there  was  no  certainty  of  the  ship's  position  from  one 
hour  to  another. 

In  the  midst  of  the  anxiety  and  gloom,  the  Fleetwing 
came  up  to  a  large  black  merchantman,  four  times  the 
tonnage  of  the  whaler.  Companionship  at  such  a  time  is 
pleasant ;  it  seems  to  lessen  the  danger  by  dividing  it. 
It  gave  a  lift  to  the  hearts  of  the  Fleetwings  to  see  that 
they  could  outwind  and  outsail  this  huge  merchantman, 
whose  crew  looked  on  with  amazement  to  see  the  little 
whaler  leave  them  behind  in  the  dismal  gloom.  It 
shocked  their  officers,  and  impressed  them  with  the  belief 
that  they  were  drifting  faster  upon  the  land  than  they 
were.  They  began  immediately  to  make  sail,  though  the 
vessel  had  previously  been  crowded  hard  as  she  could 
bear. 

It  was  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  before  the 
rain  ceased,  and  then  only  for  a  moment.  A  narrow  rift 
cleared  to  the  land,  and  then,  shut  down  thicker  than  ever, 
the  gale  piping  on  furiously.  The  sharp  eyes  of  Raymond 
and  Bailey  had  discovered  a  well  remembered  headland  of 
the  Straits.  It  was  less  than  five  miles  off,  under  their 
lee,  and  was  not  visible  more  than  a  minute  and  a  half. 

The  captain  was  hastily  called  out,  and  the  situation 
made  known  to  him.  At  the  present  rate  of  drift,  the 


On  a  Lee-Shore.  421 

ship  would  go  ashore  before  midnight,  if  the  wind  did  not 
change.  It  was  deemed  best  to  make  a  dash  through  the 
rain,  and  take  the  chance  of  running  back  through  the 
Straits.  The  main  spencer  and  reefed  mainsail  were  taken 
in,  the  after  yards  squared,  and  the  ship  put  dead  before 
the  gale,  venturing  to  run  back  through  Le  Maire  upon 
that  one  brief  glimpse  of  the  land. 

After  running  for  half  an  hour,  soundings  were  got  with 
the  deep-sea  lead ;  giving  thirty  fathoms,  with  gravel 
bottom  ;  which  fully  confirmed  the  ship's  supposed  position 
in  the  Straits.  They  had  now  only  to  steer  a  north  course, 
by  compass  —  with  a  little  easting,  by  way  of  precaution  — 
to  go  fairly  through  the  Straits,  where  they  could  haul  up 
west,  and  find  smooth  water  and  good  shelter  under  the 
land. 

At  the  end  of  two  hours  and  a  half,  the  yards  were 
braced  up,  and  the  ship's  head  put  to  the  west,  though 
raining  and  blowing  hard.  In  less  than  half  an  hour  the 
ship  ran  under  the  Fuego  shore,  the  rain  let  up,  and  the 
weather  became  clear.  The  whaler  George  Washington, 
and  their  old  friend  the  Rainbow,  were  there  found 
snuggled  under  the  Cape  ;  waiting  for  fair  weather  to  pass 
the  Straits.  Captain  Flasket  had  not  taken  any  oil 
since  the  ships  separated  on  the  Abrolhos.  The  Wash 
ington,  which  sailed  two  weeks  before  the  Fleetwing, 
hailed  four  hundred  and  fifty  barrels  of  sperm,  and  two 
hundred  barrels  of  humpback  oil,  all  taken  near  around 
the  Falklands. 

The  gale  continued  two  days,  followed  by  a  day  of  calm. 
The  three  captains  went  ashore  on  a  gunning  expedition, 
bringing  off  half  a  boatload  of  fat  duck,  and  a  number  of 


422  TJic  Flcctwing. 

kelp  geese ;  together  with  rabbits,  and  a  fine  fur  seal, 
which  was  shot  by  Captain  Talbert.  Edwards,  of  the 
Washington,  gathered  nearly  ten  bushels  of  penguin  eggs, 
being  the  only  one  of  the  three  captains  having  a  fondness 
for  such  provender  —  a  mixture  of  a  little  egg  and  much 
sawdust. 

Early  the  following  day,  a  light  air  sprang  up  from  the 
northwest,  but  as  a  strong  northern  tide  was  running 
through  the  Straits,  which  the  ships  could  not  stem,  they 
were  obliged  to  wait  for  a  strong  wind  or  a  turn  in  the 
tide.  The  wind  freshened  up  quickly  with  the  young 
ebb,  and  the  three  vessels  steered  south  through  Le 
Maire  ;  the  Washington  being  five  miles  ahead,  by  catch 
ing  a  more  favorable  start  of  wind.  When  about  half  way 
through  the  passage,  the  Washington  was  seen  to  brace  up 
her  yards,  and  haul  square  in  to  the  land ;  and  she  soon 
after  lowered  two  boats,  which  pulled  for  the  shore. 

When  the  Fleetwing  came  up  to  her  companion,  a 
large  merchantman  was  seen  wrecked  against  the  cliff. 
Dead  bodies  were  strewn  high  among  the  rocks,  and 
entangled  among  broken  spars  and  bales  of  goods.  From 
the  smoke  seen  rising  out  of  a  little  cove  near  at  hand, 
Captain  Edwards  had  concluded  that  some  of  the  sur 
vivors  might  be  found.  Each  of  the  other  ships  sent  in  a 
boat,  to  render  such  assistance  as  was  needed.  Only 
three  men  and  a  child  were  found  alive  ;  the  mate,  two 
seamen,  and  the  captain's  little  daughter,  twelve  years  of 
age.  The  vessel  was  the  ship  Goethe,  of  Bremen,  for 
Valparaiso.  Captain  Edwards  took  all  of  the  survivors 
aboard  of  his  ship,  as  he  designed  to  stop  at  Conception 
for  recruits.  At  that  port  the  noble  ship  was  burnt,  set 


The  Wrecked  SJiip.  423 

on  fire  by  one  of  her  crew.  While  burning,  the  Washing 
ton  was  run  upon  a  shoal  in  the  harbor.  The  crew  dis 
closed  the  criminal,  who  was  severely  flogged  in  the 
rigging,  on  the  burning  wreck,  and  then  delivered  to  the 
Spanish  authorities ;  so  that  the  George  Washington  was 
never  seen  by  her  companions  after  that  day. 

Again  the  ships  squared  away  through  the  Straits,  the 
wind  breezing  up  fresh,  and  the  weather  clear.  As  they 
came  out  into  the  stormy  ocean,  they  saw  several  partly 
disabled  merchantmen ;  among  them  was  the  big  black 
ship  which  the  Fleetwing  had  passed  during  the  gale. 
Foretopmast,  maintopgallant-mast,  and  jib-booms  were 
carried  away.  Her  crew  were  hard  at  work  sending  out 
new  booms,  and  hoisting  a  new  topmast  aloft.  One  ship 
had  carried  away  her  rudder,  and  had  got  it  on  deck 
trying  to  repair  it.  Another  vessel  was  trying  to  fish  a 
broken  topsail  yard  aloft ;  splintering  the  spar  with  split 
stunsail  booms,  and  serving  over  the  whole  with  hemp-rope. 
They  were  mishaps  which  draw  largely  upon  the  sympa 
thies  of  seamen,  but  serve  to  cast  a  ghostly  gloom  over 
all  on  board  for  a  while. 

At  daylight  the  Fleetwing  was  abreast  of  Barnevelt 
Island,  and  Cape  Horn  was  in  sight.  The  Rainbow  was 
fifteen  miles  astern,  and  the  other  ship  was  nowhere  to 
be  seen.  At  noon,  the  latitude  was  56°  03',  just  four 
miles  south  of  the  Horn,  which  was  then  twelve  miles 
distant,  to  the  westward.  The  ship  was  making  nine 
knots,  but  there  was  a  three-knot  current  to  stem,  and  it 
was  two  o'clock  before  Cape  Horn  Island  bore  north,  two 
miles  away,  and  the  ship  edged  away  into  the  great 
Pacific  Ocean.  A  furious  surf  was  beating  against  the 


424  The  Flectwing. 

sharp  black  rocks  of  the  dread  Horn  —  the  most  famous 
turning-point  in  ocean  navigation. 

A  score  of  merchantmen  were  seen  far  away  offshore. 
Scared  navigators,  who'  timidly  house  their  light  spars, 
and  shudder  with  superstitious  fears  as  they  approach  the 
treacherous  cape.  Wrongfully  keeping  a  wide  offing  from 
the  land  ;  not  knowing,  or  not  heeding,  that  the  closer  in 
one  keeps  on  the  green  water,  the  less  current  and 
smoother  sea  are  found ;  not  to  speak  of  the  smaller  circle 
and  shorter  track  sailed  when  very  near  in  with  the  land. 

Says  wise  old  Uncle  Joe :  Never  go  off  of  green  water 
by  day,  or  outside  of  the  gull-cries  in  the  night ;  birds 
that  rarely  go  beyond  the  edge  of  green-water  soundings. 
The  old  veteran  had  spent  many  years  among  the  islands 
thereabout,  and  could  make  a  good  harbor  in  any  gale 
that  blows,  if  the  weather  be  clear. 

The  ship  kept  to  her  west  course,  passing  north  of  the 
San  Diegos;  the  north  rock  lying  in  latitude  56°  25'. 
False  Cape  Horn,  in  latitude  55°  43',  was  left  twenty 
miles  to  the  north.  St.  Ildefonso  and  York  Minster 
were  passed  before  night;  and  the  ship  began  to  edge 
away  to  the  northwest,  carrying  a  fresh  breeze  from  the 
north-northeast. 

It  was  midsummer,  and  the  weather  held  good,  as  it 
ought,  for  several  days.  The  wind  gradually  worked 
round  to  the  east  and  the  south,  and  finally  settled  in  the 
southwest.  By  that  time  the  ship  had  got  where  she 
could  keep  away  to  the  north,  as  Captain  Talbert  was  in 
tent  upon  keeping  to  the  edge  of  green  water  until  the 
ship  reached  the  islands  of  Htiafo  and  Mocha,  both  of 
which  are  great  resorts  of  sperm-whalers. 


The  Sub-current.  425 

But  two  men  in  the  ship  knew  that  this  was  another 
new-fangled  notion  of  Uncle  Joe ;  for  not  a  soul  on 
board  had  ever  coasted  the  storm-lashed  shores  of  western 
Patagonia.  It  was  not  supposed  to  be  a  safe  cruising- 
ground,  or  a  place  where  ships  could  find  much  weather 
suitable  for  lowering  their  boats. 

It  was  left  for  this  illiterate  old  whaler,  sealer,  and 
prophet,  to  teach  navigators  that,  whereas,  there  is  a 
strong  and  dangerous  influx  of  currents  on  the  west  coast 
of  Africa,  which  drifts  many  vessels  ashore  when  be 
calmed,  and  helps  to  wreck  them  in  a  gale,  yet  the  very 
reverse  is  the  case  along  the  whole  South  American  coast. 

It  happens  in  this  wise  :  In  the  Atlantic,  the  warm 
eastern  drift  is  an  equatorial  surface-current ;  located  in  a 
belt  of  calms,  sweeping  landward  whatever  it  grapples ; 
and  thus  wrecks  many  vessels  in  the  Bight  of  Biafra,  and 
elsewhere  on  the  dread  African  coast.  While  in  the 
Pacific,  the  cold  Antarctic  current  which  dashes  in  against 
the  Spanish  Main,  being  at  a  temperature  of  40°  and 
under,  keeps  ever  tolhe  ocean-floor,  and  strikes  the  coast 
line  as  a  sub-current ;  thence  welling  upward  to  the  surface, 
with  a  constant  rebound  from  the  land ;  and  thus  becomes 
a  wonderful  safeguard  to  shipping. 

Keeping  on  up  the  coast,  the  Fleetwing  passed  near  in 
off  Tres  Monies  (three  mountains),  where  abundant  evi 
dence  of  sperm  whales  was  seen  ;  such  as  blackfish,  por 
poises,  and  pieces  of  half-masticated  squid.  This  induced 
the  captain  to  order  up  the  cutting  tackles;  which  were 
overhauled,  refitted,  and  lashed  to  the  masthead,  ready  for 
reeving  the  cutting-falls.  The  lookouts  were  increased, 
and  the  boats  put  in  prime  condition  ready  for  use. 


426  The  Flcetwing, 

While  off  Cape  Taytao,  in  latitude  46°,  it  fell  flat  calm. 
The  ship  was  left  drifting  about,  less  than  five  miles  out 
from  the  land.  The  wind  had  been  fresh  from  the  south 
west  several  days,  which  created  a  long  heavy  undulation 
that  hove  in  on  the  shore  with  a  thundering  crash,  creating 
considerable  anxiety  among  the  uninitiated. 

Throughout  the  night,  the  ship  was  swept  up  and  down 
the  shore  by  the  tides,  rolling  and  pitching  uneasily  in 
the  swell.  The  chains  had  been  bent,  and  a  tackle  got 
up  ready  to  lift  the  anchors  from  the  bows,  in  case  of 
need.  The  boats  were  fitted  with  extra  provisions,  and 
the  officers  had  tucked  their  valuables  under  the  stern- 
sheets,  half  expecting  to  have  to  leave  the  ship  before 
morning. 

But  at  daylight  the  ship  was  found  eight  miles  out  from 
the  land,  and  Joe  Bailey's  strange  statement  of  an  outflow 
ing  current  began  to  be  credited.  The  ^mystery  was 
made  greater  in  those  days,  as  nothing  was  then  known 
about  a  sub-current.  Yet  Uncle  Joe  had  known  about  the 
outflow  for  fifty  years,  and  attributed  it  to  the  constant 
flow  of  snow-water  from  the  shore. 

Before  the  lookouts  fairly  reached  the  cross-trees  that 
morning,  they  began  to  cry  out  about  whales.  The  ship 
was  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  school  of  seventy-barrel  sperm 
whales.  Breakfast  was  hastily  served  while  the  boats 
were  being  got  ready  by  the  shipkeepers,  and  the  four 
boats  went  down  among  them. 

Captain  Talbert  soon  struck  an  eighty-barrel  whale, 
which  started  the  school  offshore.  The  loose  boats  fol 
lowed  to  the  edge  of  green  water,  where  the  whales  stilled 
down  and  all  three  boats  fastened  to  seventy-barrel 


Sperm  Whales.  427 

whales.  The  captain's  whale  sounded  to  the  bottom  of 
shoal  water,  and  was  easily  killed  when  he  came  up. 

As  the  ship  still  lay  becalmed,  Captain  Talbert  went 
aboard  ship  and  sent  Mr.  Antoine  back  to  lie  by  the 
whale.  About  ten  o'clock  a  light  breeze  came  off  from 
the  land,  and  the  ship  fanned  slowly  along  to  the  whale, 
and  took  him  alongside.  The  ship  was  then  headed  off 
shore  after  the  boats,  which  had  disappeared  ;  and  were 
not  in  sight  even  from  the  masthead. 

Late  in  the  afternoon,  the  top  of  a  boat-sail  was  discov 
ered  far  away  over  the  horizon.  It  proved  to  be  the 
mate's  boat,  with  a  blue  waif  flying  high  above  the  mast, 
which  was  not  visible  until  the  white  sail  beneath  it  was 
seen.  Soon  after,  the  other  two  boats  were  raised  up,  all 
three  lying  by  whales,  not  far  from  each  other.  Before 
sunset  the  whales  were  safe  alongside,  and  a  good  two 
days'  cutting  was  before  the  crew.  Though  the  ship  was 
in  a  stormy  latitude,  all  hands  were  sent  below  until  an 
hour  before  daylight,  when  breakfast  was  served,  and  cut 
ting  began  in  earnest. 

While  boiling  was  going  on,  the  ship  worked  in  and  off 
from  the  edge  of  green  water,  some  thirty  miles  out,  to  the 
shore.  When  about  sixty  miles  to  the  north  of  Taytao, 
close  in  off  Hamblin  Island,  whales  were  again  seen ; 
probably  the  same  school,  as  they  were  seventy-barrel 
whales.  The  three  larboard  boats  were  sent  down.  Mr. 
Antoine  remained  aboard  to  keep  up  the  boiling.  The 
mate  and  second  mates  got  fast,  and  killed  their  whales 
without  trouble  ;  and  two  hours  after,  they  were  taken 
alongside,  and  the  ship  made  ready  for  cutting. 

Before  the  two  whales  were  fairly  cut  in,  it  came  on  to 


428  The  Fleetiving. 

blow  a  smart  gale,  directly  onshore.  This  mishap  made 
it  necessary  to  hoist  in  the  last  head  whole,  as  there  was 
not  time  to  separate  the  case  and  junk,  with  the  ship 
making  a  dead  drift  upon  the  land.  The  head  of  a 
seventy-barrel  cachalot  is  an  enormous  weight  to  put  upon 
a  ship's  mainmast.  But  two  tackles  were  hooked  to  it,  all 
hands  sent  to  the  windlass,  and  the  head  was  hove  in.  It 
was  placed  between  the  weather-rail  and  the  mainmast, 
and  lashed  with  double  lashings  to  mast,  rail,  and  ring 
bolts. 

Storm  sails  were  then  got  upon  the  ship,  and  she  began 
slowly  to  claw  offshore.  The  tryworks  had  to  be  cooled 
down,  as  the  spray  began  to  fly  into  the  pots  and  blacken 
the  oil. 

The  change  of  the  moon,  her  perigee,  and  a  high  southern 
declination  now  coincided  —  a  combination  of  the  three 
worst  signs  for  bad  weather.  The  barometer  was  low, 
and  falling  fast,  evidence  that  a  tremendous  gale  would 
follow.  Before  there  was  time  to  see  whether  the  ship 
could  claw  off  from  the  land  or  not,  a  drizzly  rain  shut  out 
every  vestige  of  the  shore.  The  deep-sea  lead  was  kept 
going  hourly,  throughout  the  night,  but  no  bottom  was 
found  at  a  hundred  fathoms  ;  which  served  to  relieve  the 
anxiety  of  the  deck-watch. 

At  daylight  the  ship  was  in  blue  water,  heading  west- 
northwest,  which  was  a  good  enough  offing  for  such  a  ship 
to  hold  to.  Sail  was  shortened,  and  the  ship  labored  less. 
Finding  that  she  made  easy  work  of  the  gale,  and  that  the 
seas  had  become  regular,  an  awning  was  rigged  over  the 
trypots,  and  the  works  started  up  again.  The  boiling  was 
driven  hard,  as  the  thrashing  about  of  the  blubber  in  the 


Among  Right  Whales.  429 

'tvveen-decks  was  pressing  the  oil  from  it,  and  much  would 
be  lost. 

It  remained  stormy  for  a  week,  at  times  blowing  very 
hard,  so  that  the  tryworks  had  to  be  cooled  down  for 
many  hours.  The  deck  was  getting  greatly  cumbered 
with  oil ;  yet  it  was  difficult  stowing  it  in  the  hold  while  the 
heavy  seas  were  boarding  the  vessel.  When  the  wind 
dropped,  and  the  sun  came  out  at  the  end  of  the  week,  — 
to  the  surprise  of  all,  the  ship  was  found  to  be  two  hundred 
miles  offshore.  She  was  headed  round  for  the  land,  and, 
without  making  sail,  all  hands  applied  themselves  to  stow 
ing  away  the  several  hundred  barrels  of  oil  which  lum 
bered  the  deck ;  and  the  work  had  to  be  carried  far  into 
the  night. 

The  next  morning  the  ship  ran  among  a  body  of  right 
whales,  on  what  is  known  as  the  Chili  Ground,  located  on 
the  southern  edge  of  the  great  plateau  which  extends 
more  than  a  thousand  miles  out  from  the  coast.  Juan 
P'ernandez  and  Massafuero  are  the  only  islands  upon  it ; 
though  the  depth  of  water  does  not  vary  much  from  four 
teen  hundred  or  fifteen  hundred  fathoms  over  many  thou 
sand  square  miles. 

All  the  officers  of  the  Fleetwing  but  Mr.  Bailey  were 
right  whalers,  and  they  now  scented  their  old  game  and 
begged  Captain  Talbert  to  let  them  go  down  and  tackle 
the  coal-black  fellows.  The  three  larboard  boats  were 
sent  down,  and  Raymond  and  Braybrook  soon  fastened  to 
two  fat  cows,  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  barrels  each. 

Braybrook's  whale  brought  round  to,  and  was  easily 
killed.  The  mate's  whale  ran  to  windward  like  a  race 
horse.  Here  was  game  of  a  different  calibre  from  the 


43°  The  Fleetwing. 

cachalot.  A  right  whale  can  make  no  fight  with  his  head. 
A  penknife  thrust  into  his  nose  will  send  him  under 
water  stern-foremost  —  head  over  heels.  But  his  tail  is  a 
wonderful  fighting  implement.  While  a  sperm  usually 
strikes  up  and  down,  the  right  whale  can  sweep  over  a 
half-circle,  more  than  his  own  length  in  diameter.  Thus, 
bowing  on  is  much  more  dangerous  than  with  a  sperm 
whale.  Raymond  nearly  chopped  the  tail  off  of  his  whale 
so  that  she  could  not  kick,  and  then  hauled  forward  and 
killed  her  without  danger.  The  whales  were  found  so 
numerous,  and  so  easily  caught,  that  Captain  Talbert  con 
cluded  to  try  and  make  up  his  voyage  among  them.  The 
result  was  that  at  the  end  of  two  months'  whaling  the 
Fleetwing  was  full,  with  a  deckload  besides.  She  had 
taken  seventeen  whales,  that  averaged  ninety  barrels ; 
which,  with  her  sperm  oil,  comprised  three  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  thirty  barrels,  all  told. 

Sail  was  made  for  Valparaiso.  During  the  passage 
there  was  just  time  to  wash  the  ship  clean,  and  give  her 
hull  a  coat  of  paint  inside  and  out.  Captain  Talbert 
hoped  to  find  a  ship  in  port  that  would  freight  home  the 
oil.  That  accomplished,  he  would  give  Raymond  the 
ship,  and  embark  for  home  with  his  family. 

The  winds  baffled,  and  proved  so  light  that  the  ship  was 
ten  days  reaching  Valparaiso.  Early  one  morning  she 
doubled  round  the  big  headland,  ran  in  off  the  stone 
pier  and  dropped  anchor.  When  sails  were  furled,  the 
larboard  watch  were  given  liberty  on  shore  ;  and  during 
the  month  the  watches  alternated  day  after  day;  the 
seamen  being  daily  allowed  money  enough  to  raise  a 
breeze  in  the  "foretop,"  or  the  "cross-trees,"  high  up  in 
the  sailor  cockloft  of  the  town. 


At  Valparaiso.  431 

The  captain  and  ladies  took  up  their  residence  ashore. 
Early  in  the  day  the  boat  returned  with  the  ship's  mail 
and  fresh  provisions,  and  fruit  for  all  on  board.  Raymond 
received  letters  from  his  mother's  family,  together  with 
one  from  Mr.  Lawrence,  and  two  from  Miss  Nellie. 

His  mother  and  sisters  were  delighted  with  the  ship's 
early  success ;  and  full  of  wonder  at  the  friendliness  ex 
pressed  by  his  new-found  friends,  the  Lawrences.  They 
had  not  only  visited  the  family,  but  had  entertained  them 
all  for  a  week  at  their  Boston  home. 

Mr.  Lawrence's  letter  was  full  of  warm,  paternal  affec 
tion.  While  sending  much  wholesome  advice  to  his 
adopted  boy,  he  begged  him  to  contemplate  his  future 
through  other  eyes ;  give  up  the  sea,  and  come  home  to' 
those  dear  ones  who  had  learned  to  love  him  so  well. 
The  dear  old  man  ended  by  saying :  "  Charles,  I  shall 
claim  the  privilege  of  looking  after  your  mother  and 
sisters  during  the  voyage,  for  I  have  found  them  worthy 
of  the  noble  son  of  my  adoption." 

Ardent  little  Nellie's  letters  were  purposely  reserved  to 
the  last.  Of  course,  curiosity  and  other  human  interests 
were  thumping  at  Raymond's  heart,  eager  to  know  the 
contents  of  the  precious  missives.  Still  the  mate  delayed, 
and  read  their  strange  superscription  —  C.  Raymond 
Lawrence  —  over  and  over,  before  he  ventured  to  open 
them  ;  fearing  lest  the  dear  girl  should  persuade  him  from 
the  iron-bound  path  which  he  had  tracked  out  for  himself. 
It  need  not  be  concealed  how  wildly  his  heart  beat  while 
he  examined  the  dates,  and  took  the  earliest  one  to  open. 
Not  till  that  moment  did  Raymond  know  how  deeply  the 
beautiful  girl  had  wormed  into  his  affection. 


432  The  Flcctwing. 

It  was  evidently  a  sweet,  ardent  epistle,  for  Raymond 
read  it  through  twice  in  succession,  with  tears  in  his  eyes 
to  the  last.  Folding  the  eloquent  missive,  he  put  it 
tenderly  back  into  its  envelope,  with  a  degree  of  pains 
taking  which  expressed  the  value  he  put  upon  it. 

Taking  up  the  second  letter,  this  strong,  well  bal  -.need 
man  again  hesitated  before  opening  it,  as  if  he  felt  it 
possible  that  Nellie  might  induce  him  to  give  up  his  well 
ordered  plans  for  the  future.  He  had  got  accustomed  to 
the  girl's  endearments  in  the  first  letter,  and  now  ventured 
to  read  some  paragraphs  of  the  second  one  aloud  to  him 
self,  for  the  pleasure  it  might  yield  his  aural  nerves  — 
an  egotistical  habit  of  bachelors  :  — 

DEAR,  DEAR  RAYMOND,  —  My  noble,  my  darling 
brother,  if  you  knew  how  we  all  yearn  for  you  here  at 
home,  you  would  not  stay  out  on  the  hateful  sea  any 
longer. 

What  do  you  think  ?  Every  soul  in  our  circle  is  just 
wild  to  make  your  acquaintance,  and  show  you  the  homage 
which  your  manly  acts  deserve.  Lots  of  girls  have  set 
their  caps  for  you  already.  But,  dear  Raymond,  we  know 
something,  donjt  we  ?  which  we  sha'n't  tell  any  one,  at 
present.  Yet,  I  am  not  a  bit  jealous,  for  I  want  every 
body  to  love  you,  almost  as  much  as  I  do. 

Do  you  know,  dear  brother,  that  I  have  recited  that 
dreadful  shipwreck  so  often  —  to  the  hundreds  of  new 
comers  every  day  —  that  the  adventure  grows  daily  upon 
me,  until  it  is  now  twice  as  much  of  a  story  as  when  it 
happened.  I  fear  I  have  inbibed  a  sailor's  way  of  story 
telling.  Do,  pray,  tell  it  lots  of  times  yourself,  so  that 


Nellie  s  Letter.  433 

your  recital  may  seem  almost  as  wonderful  as  mine  ;  that 
my  story  may  not  seem  to  others  deceptio  visus. 

And,  dearest,  something  of  that  sort  is  taking  place  in 
my  ever  increasing  affection  for  you.  As  you  will  remem 
ber,  I  used  to  tell  you  that  I  loved  you.  How  tame  such 
an  expression  seems  to  me  now.  Oh,  oh !  I  can  now 
find  no  words  of  endearment  good  enough  to  express  how 
dear  you  have  become  to  me.  I  can  only  say  that  your 
little  Nellie's  life  must  remain  a  dreary  blank  while  you 
are  absent.  So,  do,  do  come  home  to  me,  my  more  than 
brother. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

BOUND    FOR    THE    LAST    PORT. 

T^HE  Fleetwing  lay  idling  a  month  at  Valparaiso,  hop- 
ing  some  vessels  might  arrive  which  could  be  char 
tered  for  home  freight.  Mr.  Nye,  the  New  Bedford 
agent,  sent  word  up  and  down  the  coast,  south  to  Val- 
divia,  and  north  to  Callao,  trying  to  secure  a  ship  for 
the  purpose. 

Despairing  of  success,  recruits  were  taken  aboard, 
anchor  weighed,  and  sail  made  for  the  Sandwich  Islands. 
After  a  month  of  pleasant  sailing  across  the  unvarying 
trades,  the  majestic  snow-peaks  of  Hawaii  were  discerned 
one  morning,  and  early  on  the  following  day  the  Fleetwing 
ran  down  along  the  beautiful  reef  off  Waikiki,  to  Hono 
lulu,  flying  her  signal  for  a  pilot. 

Soon  a  hundred  bare-backed  Kanakas  gathered  down 
on  the  harbor-reef  to  grapple  the  towline,  as  Captain 
Meek,  the  pilot,  sailed  out  in  his  boat,  and  waited  to 
windward  of  the  "  Middle  Ground  "  for  the  coming  ship. 
The  fresh  trades  were  just  fluttering  down  the  Nuuanu  as 
the  ship  brailed  her  courses,  swung  her  yards  sharp  up, 
and  shot  through  the  narrow  opening  in  the  reef.  In  a 
twinkling  every  sail  was  clewed  up,  leaving  the  ship  to 
shoot  onward  into  the  very  eye  of  the  wind,  under  bare 
poles,  and  before  her  headway  was  checked  a  towline  was 

434 


The  W'edding-Day.  43$ 

in  the  hands  of  the  natives,  who  ran  the  fleet  thing  into 
her  anchorage  off  Fort  Point. 

When  the  sails  were  clewed  up,  a  boat  was  despatched 
ashore  to  notify  Mr.  Richards  that  his  intended  had 
arrived,  and  anxiously  awaited  his  coming.  He,  in  turn, 
hastened  a  messenger  to  Father  Damon,  to  catch  the  godly 
man  before  he  went  to  the  Bethel,  for  it  was  a  Sabbath 
morning,  as  well  as  a  wedding-day. 

Mrs.  Talbert  and  Raymond  were  to  act  as  best  man 
and  maid,  and  Captain  Talbert  accepted  the  paternal 
office  of  giving  away  the  beautiful  bride.  The  meeting 
of  the  lovers  was  all  that  could  be  expected  of  a  happy 
pair  about  to  enter  into  the  holy  bonds  of  wedlock. 

Asenith  Allston  never  looked  fresher  or  more  beautiful 
than  on  the  morning  of  her  bridal.  The  voyage  had 
greatly  improved  her  appearance,  having  added  forty 
pounds  to  her  slight  weight,  which  amount  of  avoirdupois 
seemed  to  have  been  most  judiciously  distributed  for  the 
occasion. 

After  the  ceremony,  when  the  congratulations  had  been 
offered  by  all  present,  Uncle  Joe  and-  Braybrook  being  of 
the  number,  it  was  arranged  that  Captain  Talbert,  wife, 
and  child  should  accompany  the  happy  pair  ashore.  They 
gladly  accepted  an  invitation  to  breakfast  with  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Richards,  at  their  pretty  home  up  the  Nuuanu, 
previous  to  going  in  search  of  permanent  quarters  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Mansion  House. 

Raymond  declined  joining  the  bridal  party,  under  the 
plea  of  trying  to  get  his  letters  from  the  post-office.  Nor 
could  the  obdurate  fellow  be  made  to  yield  to  Mrs.  Rich 
ards'  tearful  importunity.  At  parting,  Raymond  heartily 


43  6  The  Fleet  wing. 

wished  Asenith  all  the  happiness  which  she  deserved, 
adding  that  he  should  not  fail  to  be  a  frequent  visitor  at 
her  pleasant  home. 

In  reply,  tears  found  their  way  to  Mrs.  Richards'  eyes, 
and  what  she  said  was  meant  for  his  ear  alone,  so  that  the 
reader  can  only  have  it  in  strictest  confidence  :  "  Thanks, 
dear  Raymond,  for  all  your  many  kindnesses  to  me  in  the 
past.  Believe  me,  noble  man,  I  shall  never  forget  you  ; 
never  cease  to  love  you.  For  you  alone  have  made  it 
possible  for  me  to  keep  my  troth-plight  to  George  Rich 
ards —  my  husband. 

"  If  I  have  not  attained  to  the  highest  meed  of  happi 
ness  to  which  I  aspired  —  and  who  could  have  resisted 
the  temptation  ?  —  I  blame  no  one  ;  but  I  shall  bless  one 
man  with  my  dying  words.  Believe  me,  clear  Raymond,  I 
have  never  failed  to  acknowledge,  in  my  inmost  heart, 
that  the  precious  guerdon  which  would  have  made  a  very 
heaven  for  me  should  rightfully  be  reserved  for  beautiful 
Nellie  Lawrence,  the  sweetest  and  brightest  mortal  I  have 
known.  May  the  Heavenly  Father  hasten  your  nuptials 
with  her." 

The  repeated  calls  from  the  deck,  saying  that  the  boat 
was  ready,  interrupted  the  sad  parting  ;  which  was  becom 
ing  very  affecting  for  both.  The  young  bride  hastily 
dried  her  tears,  and,  with  one  last  agonizing  look  of 
affection  upon  him  she  loved  so  well,  dropped  her  veil  to 
hide  her  tear-stained  cheeks  and  blushing  face,  and  went 
out  on  deck.  Raymond  accompanied  her,  and  with  a 
bustling  air  made  himself  useful  till  the  party  embarked  ; 
then  took  another  boat  and  went  ashore  by  himself. 

Searching  out  the  Hawaiian  official,  the  mate  succeeded 


Mr.  Lawrence  s  Letter.  437 

in  getting  the  ship's  mail  from  the  post-office.  Hastening 
aboard,  he  sorted  out  and  distributed  the  letters  to  others, 
without  attempting  to  read  any  of  his  own  during  the 
passage  off;  though  he  saw  that  there  were  two  well- 
filled  letters  from  Mr.  Lawrence,  and  four  sweet-scented 
missives  from  Nellie  ;  which,  odd  fellow  that  he  was,  he 
deferred  reading  until  he  had  thoroughly  perused  both  of 
her  father's. 

In  Mr.  Lawrence's  last  letter,  the  old  gentleman  sent 
word  that  he  had  ordered  the  captain  of  the  ship  Nellie 
Lawrence — which  was  then  discharging  cargo  at  San 
Francisco  —  to  stop  at  Honolulu  on  his  way  to  China,  and, 
if  a  good  freight  offered,  to  accept  it.  He  added,  with 
much  show  of  affection  :  — 

"  Now,  my  dear  boy,  if  you  can  make  use  of  Nellie's 
ship  —  as  we  call  her  —  for  freight  and  passage  for  your 
self,  or  for  dear  old  Captain  Talbert  and  family,  you  are 
welcome  to  do  so.  I  need  not  tell  you  how  it  would 
gladden  my  old  heart  to  hear,  overland,  that  you  were 
coming  home  in  the  ship. 

"  I  have  ordered  Captain  Block  to  be  guided  wholly  by 
your  instructions.  He  fully  understands  our  relations ; 
and  he  will  not  likely  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  he  will 
have  to  look  to  you,  in  the  near  future,  for  all  his  orders. 
May  the  divine  Providence  which  directed  and  over-ruled 
your  humane  act  on  those  dread  days  in  mid-ocean,  still 
guide  and  protect  you,  my  dear  boy,  is  our  constant 
prayer,  when  we  nightly  kneel  at  the  footstool  of  God." 

Nellie's  letter  of  the  earliest  date  was  upon  a  subject 
familiar  to  us  all,  and  may  be  given  in  full,  as  far  as  it 
relates  to  the  subject  in  question  :  — 


43$  The  Fteetwing. 

MY  DEAR  RAYMOND,  —  Oh,  how  my  heart  bleeds  for 
you  at  this  moment.  Your  letter  dated  from  Abrolhos 
Banks  has  just  reached  me,  and  I  have  cried  over  it  like 
a  baby.  Nearly  all  of  the  tears  are  for  you,  dear  Ray 
mond  ;  though  I  suppose  some  of  them  are  for  myself, 
wicked  girl  that  I  am,  to  weep  joyful  tears  over  your 
dreadful  mishap. 

Your  story  about  that  awful  Miss  Tudor  makes  me 
hate  her.  Oh,  my  precious,  my  darling  brother,  how  could 
she  slight  you — one  so  noble  and  so  good?  Would  that 
I  were  there  to  love  and  console  you  for  the  loss  of  that 
perfidious  creature.  But  you  will  not  mourn  over  one 
whose  act  proves  her  unworthiness.  Write  and  tell  me 
that  you  will  not  take  it  too  much  at  heart. 

Dear  brother,  you  must  feel  in  your  deep  heart  that 
there  are  others  who  can  love  you  a  thousand  times  better 
than  that  unfaithful  girl.  Dear  Raymond,  do  hasten 
home,  and  let  us  prove  to  you  how  much  you  are  prized 
by  pa  and  me  —  your  own  little  Nellie.  Of  course,  you 
won't  attempt  another  voyage  now ;  will  you,  dearie  ? 
feeling  so  badly  as  you  do  about  that  hateful  creature  ! 
Promise  me  in  your  next  that  you  will  not  accept  the 
Fleetwing  if  she  is  offered  you.  Put  the  promise  in  the 
very  first  paragraph  of  your  letter. 

I'll  tell  you  my  thought  about  this  matter:  If  you 
must  go  to  sea,  pa  has  such  beautiful  ships,  any  of  which 
you  can  have;  come  home  in  the  Nellie  Lawrence,  —  my 
ship,  —  which  will  be  in  Honolulu  in  a  few  months,  and 
then  go  captain  of  her ;  wouldn't  that  be  nice,  dear 
brother  ?  Now,  say,  wouldn't  you  like  to  become  captain 
of  the  Nellie  ?  Pa  and  I  would  go  to  sea  with  you,  I 


Last  Word  from  Nellie.  439 

guess,  if  you  wished  to  have  us.  I  think  we  could  enjoy 
ourselves  so  much  out  on  the  water. 

Good-by,  with  a  thousand  kisses  from  pa  and  me. 

P.  S.  —  Remember,  Raymond  dear,  that  I  pray  for 
you  (sometimes  to  you)  every  night  of  my  life.  So  you 
see  that  there  are  two  little  "  Cherubs  sitting  up  aloft, 
watching  over  the  life  of  my  dear  Jack."  Lots  more  of 
loving  kisses  ;  as  a  postscript  should  end  with  them,  as 
well  as  a  letter,  from  your  loving  NELLIE. 

Among  Raymond's  package  was  a  letter  post-marked 
New  Bedford,  written  in  a  painstaking,  school-girl  hand. 
When  about  to  open  it,  he  instinctively  guessed  whom  it 
might  be  from,  and  abstained  from  breaking  the  seal, 
wh'.ch  was  stamped  with  a  pair  of  cooing  doves. 

Raymond  and  Braybrook  attended  church  in  the  after 
noon  at  the  seamen's  Bethel,  and  after  service  the  mate 
went  to  the  captain's  rooms,  while  Braybrook  went  aboard. 
When  Mrs.  Talbert  was  shown  the  unopened  letter,  she  at 
once  declared  that  it  was  Mary  Tudor's  handwriting,  and 
showed  Raymond  a  letter  which  she  had  received  from 
Mary,  in  which  the  girl  pleaded  her  cause,  and  put  the 
bl  une  wholly  on  her  mother. 

When  convinced  of  this  fact,  the  mate  called  for  an 
envelope,  and,  in  spite  of  Mrs.  Talbert's  entreaty,  enclosed 
and  superscribed  the  ill-timed  letter  to  Miss  Tudor. 
Calling  for  a  Kanaka  boy  to  mail  the  unwelcome  missive, 
he  hastily  sent  it  off,  lest  he  should  be  tempted  to  open  it, 
as  Mrs.  Talbert  wished,  the  dear  lady's  curiosity  being  very 
much  aroused  upon  the  occasion. 

Captain    Talbert   was   very   much  pleased  to  learn  that 


440  The  Fleetwing. 

the  ship  Nellie  Lawrence  would  call  at  Honolulu,  seeking 
for  a  charter,  as  she  was  just  the  kind  of  ship  for  a  safe 
freighter,  and  in  which  he  wished  to  go  home. 

On  the  following  day  the  captain,  officers,  and  boat- 
steerers  of  the  Fleetwing  went  before  Judge  Allen,  the 
American  Consul,  to  ship  for  another  voyage.  Charles  R. 
Lawrence  was  shipped  as  captain,  and  he  took  this  oppor 
tune  moment  to  go  before  the  world  under  his  new  name. 

Braybrook  was  shipped  as  mate ,  and  it  was  with  tears 
in  his  eyes  that  he  thanked  Captain  Lawrence  for  the 
berth.  George  Morey  became  second  mate,  though  Mr. 
Bailey  had  been  offered  the  berth.  Uncle  Joe,  Mr.  Joseph, 
Hoogley,  Tahiti,  and  Jose  Verd,  retained  their  old  po 
sitions  on  the  new  voyage  ;  Pico  shipped  to  steer  Mr. 
Morey. 

This  much  accomplished,  the  crew  were  sent  ashore, 
and  told  by  the  consul  they  could  have  their  choice,  to 
join  the  new  voyage,  or  be  discharged  at  Honolulu  after 
the  ship  had  discharged  her  cargo. 

Headed  by  old  Tom,  Buntline,  and  'Tucket,  the  men 
came  promptly  forward  and  reshipped,  under  Captain 
Lawrence,  at  a  small  advance  in  the  pay  of  all.  For  the 
next  three  weeks  the  crew  were  given  dally  liberty,  taking 
watch  and  watch  ashore ;  having  horse-riding  to  their 
hearts'  content.  While  the  dance-halls  and  grogshops 
resounded  with  the  merry  songs  of  the  roistering  men. 

Captain  Lawrence  took  up  his  residence  on  shore  with 
the  Talberts.  At  the  end  of  three  weeks,  the  Nellie  Law 
rence  hove  in  sight,  ran  down  off  the  port,  and  lay  off  and 
on  :  while  Captain  Block  came  ashore  to  learn  if  his  ship 
was  wanted.  Strange  to  say,  Dr.  Greeville  was  in  the 


TJie  Freight-Ship.  441 

i/o.i:  .v-itii  the  captain.  He  had  taken  passage  at  San 
Francisco  for  China ;  and  having  a  great  desire  to  see 
something  of  the  coral  islands,  he  gladly  took  passage  in 
the  Fleetwing  at  her  new  captain's  invitation. 

Captain  Lawrence  met  the  boat  at  the  wharf,  and  im 
mediately  went  before  the  consul ;  who  drew  up  a  char 
ter  for  the  Nellie  Lawrence,  binding  her  to  take  freight 
and  passengers  to  the  port  of  New  Bedford,  which  was 
signed,  and  delivered  in  duplicate  to  Captain  Block.  This 
accomplished,  the  captain  took  a  pilot,  went  off,  and 
brought  his  ship  in,  and  moored  her  alongside  of  the 
Fleetwing. 

Early  next  morning  the  work  of  discharging  the  oil 
began.  As  great  care  was  taken  in  the  cooperage  and 
stowage,  under  the  sharp  eye  of  Braybrook,  nearly  three 
weeks  passed  before  the  Fleetwing  was  emptied,  and  lay 
with  a  swept  hold ;  waiting  for  the  whitewashers  to 
cleanse  her,  over  and  over,  from  stem  to  stern ;  till  the 
hold  was  sweet,  and  ready  for  the  stevedores  to  stow  a 
ground-tier  of  salt  water. 

The  ship's  sea-provisions  were  next  got  aboard  from  the 
storehouse  on  the  wharf,  where  they  had  been  stored  in 
bond  during  the  trans-shipment  of  the  oil  and  whalebone. 
Then  came  a  supply  of  fresh  water,  and  recruits  for  a 
cruise ;  and  it  was  announced  by  the  mate  that  the  Fleet- 
wing  was  ready  for  her  new  voyage,  seemingly  under  the 
best  of  auspices. 

As  the  Fleetwing's  oil  did  not  make  more  than  half  a 
cargo  for  the  Nellie  Lawrence,  Captain  Block  was 
ordered  to  lie  in  port  until  the  fall  licet  came  in, 
to  obtain  a  full  freight.  Only  about  twenty  whalers 


442  TIic  I'lcctiving. 

had  yet  straggled  into  port  from  the  northern  whale- 
grounds. 

The  day  before  the  Fleetwing  sailed,  the  Talberts  gave 
a  sumptuous  dinner  at  the  Mansion  House,  in  honor  of 
Captain  Lawrence,  whose  romantic  story  made  him  very 
popular  among  the  merchants  and  residents  of  Hono 
lulu.  Though  there  were  but  twenty  whale-captains  in 
port  at  the  time,  yet  a  jolly  party  of  fifty,  including 
the  merchants  and  their  wives,  were  seated  at  the  grand 
repast. 

Among  those  present,  were  some  of  the  old-time  ship- 
chandlers  ;  whose  honored  names  must  ever  be  linked 
with  the  vast  whale-fleets  of  that,  and  subsequent  days, 
when  more  than  two  hundred  whale-ships  have  visited 
Honolulu  during  a  season.  Of  the  resident  merchants 
held  in  greatest  popularity,  were  Captains  James  Magee, 
Tom  Spencer,  and  Charles  Brewer;  together  with  Ben 
Pitman  of  Hilo,  and  Gorham  D.  Gilman  of  Lahaina,  well 
favored  representatives  of  the  great  mercantile  houses  of 
Hawaii. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Richards  had  not  been  forgotten,  as 
Captain  Lawrence  was  deemed  an  honored  friend  at  the 
Grotto,  their  pleasant  home  up  the  Nuuanu.  The  popular 
Father  Damon  was  there,  with  his  cultured  lady,  to  say 
grace  before  the  breaking  of  bread,  and  obtain  a  new  sub 
scriber  to  the  "  Friend  " ;  and  finally,  to  proffer  a  kindly 
benediction  at  the  conclusion  of  the  happy  occasion,  when 
all  gathered  about  the  young  captain  to  bid  him  God 
speed  upon  his  new  voyage  —  the  end  of  which  was  not 
yet. 


Death  of  Mocha.  443 

The  singular  story  of  the  Fleetwing's  rinding  the  haunt 
of  Mocha  Dick  ;  the  death  of  the  murderous  whale  by  Joe 
Bailey,  after  following  thirty  years  upon  his  track  ;  the 
ship's  being  crushed  by  the  demon  whale ;  together  with 
other  equally  strange  events  of  the  Fleetwing's  subse 
quent  voyage,  form  a  sequel  which  must  be  deferred  for 
another  narrative. 


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